Making Room
“Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.”
—Henri Nouwen
We’ve all likely had the experience where someone made space for us.
A grandparent, a dear friend, a stranger who didn’t speak our language, or even someone we didn’t agree with.
Maybe they offered us welcome. They made us feel safe.
They chose to be vulnerable.
They extended kindness when they could have withheld it.
Whatever the case, these kinds of experiences show us how powerful hospitality can be. How embrace transforms us. How, in a world of tension, hostility, and boundary-making, we often come alive when we choose to open and hold space for others.
Let’s consider how the Scriptures show us a God like this, always making room.
Luke 19
Today we are talking about the reversal of expectations and how making room for one another helps all of us to arrive home.
Bonus Material
This is a beautiful story of hospitality that challenges all of our assumptions about who is welcome at the table. But this story also posses some interesting questions when it comes to source-critical analysis of the Bible.
Luke 7
Today we are talking about hospitality as paying attenion to others, colliding worlds and the power of personal stories to cross boundaries.
Bonus Material
When people aren't ready for your contribution you are not under any obligation to stay at the table.
Luke 5
Today we are talking about making physical space for someone to join the conversation.
Bonus Material
There are moments when Jesus seems to announce forgiveness not only for the person in question but for the audience listening. Luke 5 is one of those moments and it's a good reminder that forgiveness is more than an inward change of heart it is an action we take to restore broken relationships in the world around us. Forgive, of course. But speak forgiveness where ever you can as well.
Luke 24
Today we’re looking at our last narrative for this series and talking about how we can miss the resurrection while looking it in the face, and how hospitality is not a social transaction.
Bonus Material
Sometimes I think the reason we imagine that "literal" is the only way to read a biblical story is that we don't have faith in the ancient world to tell stories with sophistication. But the truth is, the biblical writers use literary devices, on purpose, all the time, for our benefit, if we are willing to recognize them.