Hospitality to strangers

Divine example of Hospitality

Lauren Winner has said creation is the of God’s hospitality to his creatures. God sent a world in which we are meant to experience a sense of belonging and security in our families, in our homes, in our communities, in our churches, and in our world.

We see God’s good intentions in the Garden of Eden as well as throughout the book of Genesis as God over and over again promises to give Abraham a family, a place, and to bless him.

Not simply so Abraham can find a sense of belonging and security for , rather so that the people of God, as Abraham’s family grows, can

God frequently reminds them, don’t forget you too were strangers in Egypt, meaning you know what it’s like to experience inhospitality, you should know better.

God takes hospitality seriously because it’s a . That being said, we’ve likely all experienced some degree of hospitality from God, the world, our family, the church, and region. The difficulty is, all of us have also experienced inhospitality.

Radical Hospitality of Jesus

1. Jesus was with His -For the son of man came to seek and save the lost

First, you might seem to exclude Zacchaeus as a person needing provision as we are informed that Zacchaeus is a cheap tax collector and in case it wasn’t obvious, we’re also told he was rich.

However, this status and privilege, as you are probably aware, rendered him suspect by the first century Jewish community since tax collectors were despised to the point of being considered outsiders. All the more if one is the chief tax collector. Furthermore, the word for chief links this account from the outset with the one in the previous chapter about the ruler, who is elsewhere called the rich ruler or the young ruler,

2. He allowed margins of

Therefore, hospitality necessitates being open to interruption, just like the Old Testament hospitality, which involves the arrival of a stranger of provision.

We have to be open to others interrupting our lives and often these are the moments that are the real stuff of life when life feels truly lived. So, Jesus was just passing through.

Our doesn’t set his

3. invitation- the one who Jesus out is

 4. Imitation- Jesus’ to Zacchaeus naturally leads Zacchaeus to provide for others. Vulnerability and generosity breathe more of the same.

Now it is the rich, in fact embracing the poor, the crossing of another social boundary in near minutes. go hand in hand in this story.

Abraham, for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.

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So how do we do this? use the acronym B.L.E.S.S

B-

L-

E-

S-

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