Hospitality I - The Hunt

Clint Ware: Hospitality - Part 1 The Hunt

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Hospitality Part I: The Hunt

Lets play a little Jeopardy!

Once regarded as a virtue ,widely believed to be a mutual obligation of all people 

to help one another,  especially the stranger

What is Hospitality?

The Hunt for Hospitality in History

1st Century Mediterranean  Understanding (the way everybody grew up)

- a community responsibility

- the honor of you community was at steak when travelers came 

GREEK (main language of the day)  the word for hospitality

 philoxenia brother + stranger -- to treat the stranger as a brother or family

Our cultural understanding 80 years ago?

Someone new moved into the area?

Everyone knew their neighbors (a since of community)

When friends or family came to town, everyone spent the night

Today  (lets look at the trends of our culture)

- full service restaurants - down 

- Fast food  restaurants - up 

- social evening with the neighbors - down 

- having friends over to play cards - down 

- Having friend over for dinner - down 

Life has become less and less personal over time

Face to face - over the phone - email - text messages 

- our culture almost seems to push into an individualistic mindset

- we don’t even mind the fact the nobody knows their neighbors

- free time + me time

TV - just me and my TV 

(how many of us feel like we know the characters on our favorite shows better than we know most of the people in our life?)

Online - a poor substitute for community since you don’t have to be you 

IS THIS A PROBLEM?

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION? - 

WHERE DOES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOSPITALITY COME FROM? 

OUR CULTURE

Lets look to some other possible sources of understanding

Jewish understanding  

TURN TO

Genesis 18:1  The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.  2  Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.  3  He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.  4  Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.  5  Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way--now that you have come to your servant."  "Very well," they answered, "do as you say."  6  So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."  7  Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.  8  He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.  

God commanded this of his people no less 24 times

Deuteronomy 10:17  For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.  18  He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.  19  And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. 

Hospitality as an expression of  His character

Next week we will explore how Jesus taught and modeled Ho0spitality and how that was incorporated into the early church Then we will look at the practice aspects of hospitality for us today and how we might incorporate what God says into our lives