[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Friday, January 31 2014

[Paul]

Hello and good day to most of you still on your last day of January.  By God's matchless grace and His providential care, we've made it through the first month of 2014.  What will the shortest month of the year be like? Only God knows for certain.  Let's just take it one day at a time, shall we?

The author of this article, Jeanne Zornes, is an author and speaker from the town of Wenatchee, Washington, and the title of her submission is "Just Set An Extra Plate," rendered as follows:

I'll never forget the Luke 14 potluck dinner at the home of my co-worker.

Oh, they didn't call it that, but it definitely reminded me of the banquet Jesus attended at the home of a prominent religious leader.  Luke 14 tells how the other guests arrogantly jockeyed for the places of honor at the table.

Jesus criticized their pride, saying it would be better to invite those who couldn't reciprocate with an even fancier meal at their homes.  This would include people who were poor, or who lived with disabilities (Luke 14:13).

That certainly described my co-worker's guest list that night.

As we mingled, strangers became friends, even if just for the meal.  Plus, the compassion of my co-worker and his wife impacted me in reassessing what "hospitality" really looks like.

A lot of people think "hospitality" involves showing off your decor or cooking skills.  But the Greek word for "hospitality" in the New Testament, philoxenia, literally means "brotherly love of strangers." That type of hospitality focuses on showing Christ's love.

That perspective has helped me invite people for a meal without thinking I had to prepare a gourmet feast, have the house immaculate, or be concerned about the "right" guests coming.  Often I practiced "extra plate" invitations, like the Sunday my husband invited an 80-year-old widow home after church, not knowing I'd also asked a 30-year-old recent divorcee.  And my menu was leftovers!

But they didn't seem to mind boiled cabbage, warmed-up sausage, and yesterday's salad stretched with more lettuce.

As my husband helped the widow with her coat before taking her home, she remarked, "It means so much to an old lady like me to be remembered." The other guest kept remarking how that dinner surpassed any she'd cook herself.  They didn't go home empty-handed, either:  our small children gave them drawings for their refrigerators!

As I think back over friendships I've cherished, the gift of hospitality marked many.

I was new to town, in my first job, when I met Halcyon at church.  This widow, fifty years my senior, immediately invited me home for dinner.  She lived on the edge of poverty, but poured riches into my life as she talked about the Bible and what God had done for her.  We shared meals for years until I moved away for mission service.

Then I ran into veteran missionaries Milton and Clara, who had big hearts for the single women in their mission.  Clara's "just-come-because" dinners brought us together to enjoy each other and the simple, delicious cuisine of Clara's farm upbringing.

A few years later, my parents died just months apart when I was 31, interrupting my courses at graduate school.  When I returned after settling their affairs, Jinny, an unmarried college librarian, learned of my deep grief and reached out to me.  Several times she and her housemate Marty had me over for a no-frills dinner or pancake brunch, with jams or vegetables from their big garden.  Often they sent me back to my college apartment with fresh produce.

They told me they decided to pool their resources and build a modest home together, rather than live single and separately.  That way, they could practice hospitality to missionaries, foreign students, and people experiencing hardship.

"We share what we have," one told me, "and that's what the Lord wants."

Dinner ready? Got an extra plate to set out?

And there you have Jeanne's article which I hope was a blessing to you all.  Some of you have read it before, but there are some who haven't, so for them I have included it.

When I think of the word "hospitality," I think of my friend Carol Platt who presently lives in the East Pittsburgh PA borough of Chalfont.  Growing up as an adopted blind baby, she lived in the western Pennsylvania town of Scotdale before moving, at age 12, to Greensburg PA, about 30 miles from Pittsburgh.  I don't know when she moved to her present location, but she worked for about 16 years as a medical transcriber in a local Pittsburgh hospital before her mother became sick and, because no one else was available, Carol had to leave work to take care of her.  At age 15 or so she developed juvenile diabetes and, several years later, had arthritis in her back.  She had three husbands, but all of them died.  It was about two years ago that I met her in an Internet chatroom and, after private talks between the two of us, it was arranged that I'd come to her place for a visit.  Talk about hospitality! She is someone who knew how to give and give, despite her meager financial resources.  But with the Lord guiding her, she has managed to make it on her own.  We discovered that we have so much in common, particularly when it comes to the Christian life.  The last time I visited was during our Memorial Day weekend last year when she, along with my minimal help, arranged a picnic in her backyard for 12 people, and was it a blast! Of course, in the following few days she suffered considerably from pain, but the Lord brought her through it.  I so much wish that you could have met her, but I guess that is not to be, unless you live in her community.

One final thing before I close, and that is an excellent definition of the word "hospitality." Hospitality is the bridge between an open home and an open heart.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, tomorrow there will be another Daily Thought message for you.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul