Hospitality, Sacred Space, & Peace with God
(Free Version); Genesis 18:1-15; Romans 5:1-8; Matthew 9:35-10:8
Our readings this week root us in the promises and gifts of God, and invite us into His giving and hospitable life. As always, if you are looking to go deeper with this readings, please check out our paid subscriptions where we have a 4-5 page version and an (approx.) 13-page version of the summary below with much more, delivered faithfully to your inbox every week.
In our Old Testament reading, Abraham sees three mysterious (at least to us) visitors and insists on showing them hospitality. Abraham bows before them and immediately shifts into “hospitality mode,” offering foot washing, rest, and a quickly, but carefully prepared meal. This reading takes place within a broader narrative, the continuation of the story of Abraham and Sarah, and God’s promise to bring from them a great nation. God has promised (Gen. 12), made a covenant (Gen. 15), and now one of these three mysterious…messengers?…declares that Sarah will give birth to a son the following year.
Sarah laughs at the declaration because it is truly absurd to think that she could have a child in her old age. God’s promise is often outside of our frame of reference. It is all God’s gift, and it is altogether unexpected. Still, at the end of our reading, Sarah is still barren, still trusting in hope, now buoyed by the words of the messenger.
In our epistle reading (Romans 5:1-8), Paul explains that our life in Christ is a gift. We have been justified by faith. Because of this, we can trust that God will see us through to the end. We can even boast in our sufferings in the present time because we know that something is happening in us in the midst of it: endurance, character, and hope. This is all undergirded by God’s love. We have a great future. We will share in God’s glory. But God has made that declaration now in the present, because of what Christ has done on the cross in the past.
In our gospel reading (Matthew 9:35-10:8), Jesus sees his people “like sheep without a shepherd.” He tells his disciples to ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers, and then, as an answer to their prayer, Jesus sends the disciples themselves. Their calling is to bring liberation and healing to the lost sheep of Israel. The kingdom of heaven has come near in Jesus, which will lead to healing the sick, raising the dead, and driving out demons. We see from the story of the New Testament, that this proclamation will eventually extend from God’s people to Samaritans and Gentiles.
This commissioning is framed in terms of “giving.” God is and has shown ultimate hospitality. This is God’s nature: giving, loving, serving, hosting. As we are invited into God’s life, the role of host and guest are blurred. God has prepared a place for us, and invites us to prepare a place for himself and for others.
Moments of hospitality may actually become sacred spaces in a divided world. Think about the life of Jesus. Everywhere he goes, he seems to throw an open-invitation party. At these meals, these parties Jesus is both the host and the guest. He gives and he receives.
Jesus goes to Zaccheus’ house. Zaccheus hosts him, but Jesus is the one who heals Zaccheus. Jesus goes to Mary and Martha’s house. They host him, but Jesus changes their lives. At the Last Supper, the disciples make the preparations, but Jesus washes his disciples feet. At the Road to Emmaus, the disciples host Jesus at his home, but he breaks bread for them and opens their eyes to who he really is.
There is something that happens when we are open-handed and generous with others. It changes us and it changes them. Jesus also said that whenever we open-handedly provide for those in need, it is as if we are serving him.
The communion meal is a weekly embodiment of this. We prepare a table, but it’s God who hosts us and heals us. And our lives then become an extension of that table to a hungry and thirsty world. And as we live this sacramental life in the world, we too are changed.