Hospitality: The act of reciprocity

Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say,

 “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”

Luke 10:7 -9

The days when no one locked the back door, or front door for that matter and left their keys in the car, are well and truly gone. Having visitors turn up at any time was somewhat serendipitous, but providing drink and something to eat was essential. Not offering hospitality was considered ill- mannered and poor form. It still exists in some places, but turning up unannounced in the 21^st century is generally met with surprise and occasionally indignation – because our favourite programs are on the box, because we all have routines that we must keep to.

It is less surprising that when Luke is looking for images of the Kingdom of God, that he uses hospitality in the form of banquets, meals, invitations and welcomings. Indeed when those who preach the Gospel are welcomed into a new community, Jesus assures them that the kingdom is close at hand.

This is a real challenge to us in our busy lives – making ourselves available not only to friends and relatives, but remarkably to our own families – let alone to perfect strangers. We’ve all overheard or even used excuses for not visiting or to avoid having visitors as if opening our homes and offering hospitality is an invasion of privacy not an invitation to intimacy and deeper relationships.

Our words hospital, hospice, host  and hospitality are derived from the Latin hospes meaning both host and guest or stranger. This gives us an idea of what hospitality is, how it is an act of reciprocity – we are givers of hospitality and recipients of hospitality.

Luke is keenly aware that fellowship at the table, the sharing of meals is a particular moment of grace. It is in the making of companions (companion means one who breaks bread with another) that grows out of eating together, sharing stories, dreams and visions that unveils hospitality’s deeper purpose: remembering and reliving. It is something we do each day around the family table, ordering our responses according a rubric that scaffolds our love and friendship in our stories which draw concern, approval and advice, and we in turn listen and give of ourselves in return. This is holy, sacred time. It is here just as in our churches that God is truly present, he is indeed near.

Bringing our friends and perfect strangers to our table, into our homes, to begin new memories and to link with ever deeper common stories is the very reason we must break out of the chains of our 21^st century culture and be nothing less than hospitable.