HOSPITALITY How Ordinary People Can Live on Mission 134 HOSPITALIT Y 2015 LifeWay

Transcription

1 134 Hospitality

2 Time to eat. Time to Serve. I d be willing to serve, but I don t know what I could do. Living on mission? That s something full-time missionaries do but me? There is an amazingly simple and enjoyable way to serve others. If you can eat, you can be on mission! Deep within us, we all long to share good food with family and friends meals with lots of conversation, joy, and love. Something incredible in these meals moves way beyond just eating food. This may surprise you, but all of these experiences can point us toward the kingdom of God. How? Hospitality is essential for understanding the nature of God and the mission of God. Through Jesus teaching (at a meal) we can learn to comfortably engage people with the love and grace of the gospel. Something about sharing a meal together can open the door to hospitality, conversation, and even Jesus. Let s learn to serve by creating a culture infused with hospitality. Tony Merida Tony Merida is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and associate professor of preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down (B & H, 2015). BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 135

3 136 Hospitality

4 What made a special meal so memorable? QUESTION 1 #Hospitality BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 137

5 THE POINT Hospitality is a practical way to share Christ with others. THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE Certain meals stand out in our memories. I m not talking about the food per se, but the occasion: A birthday party A Thanksgiving dinner with all the extended family members present An unplanned occasion that turned into a long dinner conversation Our favorite meals may or may not involve great food, but they do involve people. Favorite meals involve friendship and usually festivity. We share life together around a table. When a loved one dies, one of the first places we miss him or her is around the table. Why? Because at meal time we don t just focus on the food in front of us; we focus on the people around us. These experiences point us to the kingdom of God. Hospitality. Friendship. Fellowship. Jesus, who was constantly interacting with people over meals, teaches us we can use these moments to extend the kingdom of God to others. 138 Hospitality

6 WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Luke 14:12-24 (HCSB) 12 He also said to the one who had invited Him, When you give a lunch or a dinner, don t invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. 13 On the contrary, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. 15 When one of those who reclined at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, The one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God is blessed! 16 Then He told him: A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17 At the time of the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who were invited, Come, because everything is now ready. 18 But without exception they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me. 19 Another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me. 20 And another said, I just got married, and therefore I m unable to come. 21 So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame! 22 Master, the slave said, what you ordered has been done, and there s still room. 23 Then the master told the slave, Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will enjoy my banquet! BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 139

7 THE POINT Hospitality is a practical way to share Christ with others. Luke 14:12-14 Invite others to your feasts. This passage focuses on two of my favorite subjects: Jesus and food. Jesus used the occasion of sharing food to teach about people and the kingdom of God. In fact, Jesus is the ultimate example of hospitality. Although He never owned a house, Jesus consistently used the meals where He was a guest as opportunities to engage, teach, and love others. Jesus spoke the words we are studying while at a meal at a Pharisee s house (14:1). First, Jesus taught about humility in social situations, allowing others to honor us instead of exalting ourselves (vv. 7-11). Then, He turned His attention to who should be on the guest list. Who did Jesus say should be included? He specifically mentioned the marginalized and the unwanted. In this parable, Jesus calls us to do two things. 1. Invite outsiders. Jesus wasn t saying He opposed spending time with friends and family. Indeed, He made it clear that people will know we re disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35) and that implies we spend time together. But, Jesus guest list includes those who might not normally get invited, those we might not typically spend time with. Let s distinguish between fellowship and hospitality. Fellowship is what we do with believers. Hospitality literally means love for strangers. Who are the outsiders in our community? QUESTION Hospitality

8 Whom do you know who is actively hospitable to people on the margins of life? QUESTION 3 It s OK to mix fellowship and hospitality. Jesus always seemed to have a mix of different people around Him. He never hung out exclusively with the religious establishment. What Jesus was saying was: don t limit the guest list to certain individuals. In fact, give preference to the poor or struggling. It was as if Jesus was looking around the room and asking Where are the orphans? The troubled teenagers? The people in wheelchairs? The single mom struggling to get by? Where are the people who are broken? 2. Invite those who can t repay you. Often, our social life is built around repayment. You give me a birthday gift, and on your birthday, I ll get you one. You buy my lunch, and the next time I buy your lunch. In verse 14, Jesus was talking about the ultimate power lunch. Invite the needy and show them grace, and you ll be repaid at the resurrection. That s powerful! Practicing hospitality, however, isn t always going to be comfortable. Those you invite may not even say thank you. It may call for a little sacrifice. To the Lord, though, no small act of hospitality goes unnoticed. It s all significant. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 141

9 THE POINT Hospitality is a practical way to share Christ with others. "The reason we long for Are you more likely to invite someone to church or to a meal? Why? companionship and good food with great friends and family is that we're QUESTION 4 made for this experience." TONY MERIDA, ORDINARY ROOM FOR MORE Your group was just given $150 and the task to demonstrate hospitality in your community. What would you do with your resources? What ripple effects would you hope to see in your small group, your city, God s Kingdom stem from this experience? 142 Hospitality

10 Luke 14:15-24 Invite outsiders to the King s feast. Jesus went on to tell another parable. A man gave a banquet a great party and he invited many to come. It was common in that day to issue two invitations. The first invitation essentially asked if they wanted to come. If a person responded yes, a second invitation was later sent, informing the person that everything was now ready for the banquet. Yet when the servant went to those who had RSVPed, they made excuses lame excuses for not coming. I can t go; I bought a field, and I have to go see it. Now who buys a field without seeing it first? I bought five yoke of oxen. I need to go try them out. Again, who would buy livestock without examining the animals first? I ve gotten married; therefore, I can t come. What s this about? Didn t those guys have to eat, too? In this parable, the host became angry and told his servant to go out to the streets and bring in the poor, disabled, blind, and lame. The servant said, What you ordered has been done, and there s still room. The master again sent his servant out into the highways and hedges to compel more people to come in so that the house would be filled. That s good news for us: there s still room. There s room for us to go out and invite more people into our lives and into our homes. Ultimately, we want to invite them to the King s feast because there s room for all who will come. Everything needed has been accomplished so we can come to the King. Jesus came, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, and rose from the dead. Everything is ready. Let s invite others in. All who have received God s grace likewise should show grace. It might surprise you how God can use time spent over a shared meal. After all, there is always room for more at His table. What can we do as a group to make space at the table for outsiders? QUESTION 5 BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 143

11 THE POINT Hospitality is a practical way to share Christ with others. LIVE IT OUT What will you do to make hospitality a part of your life? Look to the fringes. In most work places, neighborhoods, and community groups some people tend to get left out. Ask God to help you see those around you this week. Learn the names of those you encounter in a typical week. Make it your goal to call people by name and to learn a bit more about them. Mix it up. If your group is going bowling, having lunch together, or just going for coffee, bring some people into the mix who don t know Jesus. Be a group of ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality. Why should we practice hospitality? Because Jesus has shown us grace. We who have been shown grace ought to be gracious to others. And grace can pour out of your hospitality. So collapse the distance between you and the marginalized and make room for them at your table. Kingdom Hospitality There is nothing more ordinary than a meal. In preparation for a message on hospitality (Luke 14:12-24), I asked my kids at the dinner table, What are your all-time favorite meals? The answers included meals at birthday parties (especially those with piñatas!), Thanksgiving dinners, and Christmas dinners. My wife included a Passover meal that we had with some friends. To continue reading Kingdom Hospitality excerpted from the book Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/articles. 144 Hospitality

12 My group's prayer requests My thoughts 145