Honest Hosptality

The following is from The Missional Church Network

where Brad Brisco quotes from the book
I Was a Stranger: A Christian Theology of Hospitality
by Arthur Sutherland

"Jesus’ hospitality to the displaced and distressed was not calculated but casual. It is as though Jesus lived his life as a type of present participle: '...as he was going, Jesus saw....'

"It is this casualness that undercuts much of what goes by the name of Christian hospitality today.  The churches of the country continue to promote program after program, committee after committee, to care for the poor, the naked, and the hungry.

"There is merit, of course, in organization. There is something good to be done by working together. But these efforts, as noble as they are, begin in process of institutionalizing care.

"When that happens, our ability to see the stranger 'as we are going,' is eroded.  Clothing and feeding, welcoming and visiting, become agendas.

"By adopting the vision of Jesus, by seeing as and how Jesus sees, our inclination toward hospitality will become natural and unforced. Hospitality ought to be ad hoc and personal."

At Crossroads, let's pray, listen for the Lord's voice, and then, step out on behalf of those in need, not waiting for a program or a committee to be in charge. 

It's best to do it with at least one other person, however.  Normally we go "two by two."  That keeps us both honest and safe.

www.equalsharing.com