Looking ahead to the coming year, I’ve been reflecting on what a new season of hospitality might look like. As a family, we’ve spent the past year emerging from the fog and fatigue of life with the littlest of little ones. Round-the-clock naps, breastfeeding, starting solids, learning to walk - they bring their joys, but also limitations in terms of hosting meals and accepting invitations.

But with our youngest approaching two and our options broadening, I’ve been thinking about the nature of hospitality, and its purpose. At times it can feel like another form of entertainment - a way to break up the week or an excuse to indulge in good food and wine.

Yet as I’ve pondered this and been guided by the thoughts of those wiser and more experienced in the ways of Jesus, I’ve become more persuaded that hospitality is a key way to participate in the Kingdom of God that is both now, and not yet. 

The pastor at the church we gather with in Tauranga has (somewhat helpfully!) been speaking about hospitality in his most recent teaching series. He highlighted that just as we see Jesus regularly sharing in meals before his death (Luke 7:34: The Son of Man came eating and drinking…) so we see him hosting meals after his resurrection. In John 21, Jesus prepares a meal for his disciples on the beach. Our pastor suggested this might tell us something about the nature of the post-resurrection life: that Jesus’ eagerness to prepare food and eat with his friends indicates both the value he places on it, and the continuity of shared meals as part of the “Resurrection Life”. To put it another way, when we engage with hospitality in this age, we embrace something of the age to come. 

With a house move on our horizon, I’ve been challenged about my mindset about what it means to be hospitable. We look forward to having room for people to stay and for our local community to be able to more easily visit for meals and playdates with children. 

While it may be tempting to think that more space is all we need to be better hosts and facilitate deeper relationships, I’m reminded that true hospitality is much more about the atmosphere you create than the space itself. It goes beyond the quality of the food or comfort of the furnishings to the feeling or spirit in a home - one of love, peace, patience and kindness towards not only those who are visiting, but between those who share in the hosting, spouses and children alike!  

By Hannah Revell

Copy editor for ECM News

Image from Unsplash