Hospitality

Gorgeous and I had over 20 folks to the house for dinner Sunday afternoon. Now our house is not nearly big enough for that kind of affair, which made it a very cozy, casual shindig. Just the way we like it. I didn’t realize we could fit quite so many people around the coffee table!

The idea, according to Gorgeous was to let folks sit outside on the patio if they wanted. But something about it being nearly 90 degrees put the kibosh on that whole plan. Or maybe it was the gnats, I don’t know. Everyone stayed inside.

But the food was great. Josh brought his famous banana pudding (mmm…. pudding). And the highlight of the meal was Allison’s potato salad casserole dish stuff. I never did find out what she calls it, but we all agreed it was killer.

The whole thing got Gorgeous and I talking yesterday morning about how we are going to plan to have a bunch of folks over like that at least once a month. Maybe not on that scale, mind you, but we really like hanging out with folks. Unless you are intentional about stuff like that, it never seems to happen.

Then yesterday I read this great article by David Fitch about how the reality of life in our American suburbs is making the lost art of hospitality more difficult. In it he says,

Inviting someone over for dinner in the hostile suburbs is regularly considered pathological. Suburban people are either too busy, too self-protected, or too worried what your agenda might be to ever come over.

Gorgeous and I fully intended to get to know our neighbors when we moved into this house. Two years ago. The bottom line is it is kind of hard. And it is not because our neighbors are not great people. Its just that the tyranny of the urgent seems to always get in the way.

I think the rummage sale Gorgeous had last month may have turned the corner for us. Nothing like parading your junk out in the drive way to get the neighbors to stop by!

The bottom line is hospitality in our day and age seems to be pretty tough. The challenges Fitch points out in his article make sense as to the causes. But that doesn’t mean we can just roll over and forget about it.

Greg pointed out in our Easter message Sunday morning that Jesus was known for the value He placed on hospitality. Greg talked about the story from Luke 24 about the two guys who were dejected after seeing Jesus executed. They were walking along and didn’t realize that they were talking to that same Jesus who had come out of the grave. It wasn’t until they sat down to eat that they recognized Jesus for who He was.

If hospitality was such a high value for Jesus, I think it might be worth the effort for us too.

Besides, Gorgeous and I like to eat!

Enjoy!

Tag: Life, Christian, Hospitality