On The Tenth Day Of Christmas: Practicing Hospitality

Sieger Koder's "Breaking of the Bread"

I always looked forward to guests coming to our house when I was young, whether nearby relatives and church friends for Sunday dinner or friends and family from a distance. There were very few Sundays that we weren't blessed with guests around our table or were invited to the homes of other members of our congregation. 

I was especially intrigued by having visitors from outside our rural community, including occasionally having some relatives and other students from exotic places like EMU (then EMC). Blessed by boredom as I was, I found myself entertained by adult conversations which not only included family and other stories, but were often about church issues and other matters of faith.

It's hard to overestimate how impactful these windows to the outside world were on my life, I'm thinking they played a huge role in shaping my values and envisioning my future. I often wish we could could have done more of that with our own children, for everyone's benefit, including offering more of the kind of hospitality Jesus encourages in welcoming the stranger and inviting the hungry and homeless into our home (as in "When you prepare a feast, don't just invite your friends and others who will likely return the favor, but invite the poor, the hungry, the lonely"). 

Our six grandchildren, blessed by being among the top few percent of the world's most privileged, will learn empathy and generosity not only from our words, but by our example, and by exposing them to a rich variety of good people in the real world outside our homes.

It's life changing.

Much love, may prayers.