This is the final step in the process of embracing a new definition of hospitality. Making room and making ready for the other are merely the preparation for our guest’s arrival. Now it is time for us to make ourselves available—to say “yes” to the act of hospitality. Being available is not about being busy. Being available is being fully present with the other—connected and engaged.
Romans 12:13 is a powerful directive to the Romans that would shape their actions through a broader conversation about love. And like love, as Paul describes it, we cannot practice hospitality outside of community. Because hospitality is a spiritual gift and practice, it is not an isolated action. It is how the body of Christ works together to respond to the need(s) of the other.
Paul’s broad view helps us today to move past physical needs as being the first and only concern we have when we serve to meet the needs of the other.
Lord, help me to be more like you, extending true hospitality to all whom I have the good fortune to encounter. Amen.
This message was adapted from the “Hospitality: More Than Warm and Friendly” resource written by Valora K. Starr and available from the Women of the ELCA website.
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