When I think of hospitality, traditionally I have viewed it as making time to invite family and friends over for meals. Preferably in a random spontaneous manner that does not include holidays or birthdays. I viewed it as effort being made on my part to include friends and family into my daily life and routine.
Over the past few years, that view has morphed into hospitality in event planning on our farm where we hosted CountryTime Thanks and Praise for nine years. Hospitality to me included friends, family, and strangers sometimes over and above 350 people at a time. Hospitality to me always includes food. It would NOT be “Minnesota-nice” to invite someone over and not feed them, would it? Hospitality included in my mind “planned” times to make an effort with people.
When I moved to Minnesota at nine years of age, I saw hospitality modeled by my grandma to people who needed a meal or a place to stay. Being a missionary and pastor’s wife prior to living in Lake Crystal, she was used to making food stretch to feed however many people showed up to her house to eat at any given meal. Sometimes it was a huge comfort food meal and every Friday night it was popcorn and ice cream. This was a major exposure to me of both planed and unplanned hospitality.
Recently while attending adult Sunday school at our new church up here on the North Shore, our teacher pointed out that the literal translation/definition of hospitality is “philoxenia”. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it, but it loosely translates to “love to or love for strangers”.
This shook my previously conceived notion of hospitality. The spiritual gift of hospitality was not intended to be just directed to friends, family, church family, or people within your comfort zone. I believe, hospitality bibically-defined points to showing love to the people outside of our comfort zone, to people we have never met before and perhaps people we might only meet once. That one-time hospitality needs to pack a big punch!
In the last six months, we have hosted many friends, family, missionaries, and even a youth group here at the Gooseberry Guesthouse, part of Gooseberry Cabins. It would be easy to focus my hospitable efforts on these people that are friends from the past and family. However, in this new path that God has called our family to is not meant to just bless people we love and like. He has called us to show His love to strangers…..and we have daily contact with lots of strangers now!
The more I think about this, the possibilities are endless. It might just mean rhubarb bars and a BBQ meal for long-term Gooseberry guests. But it also includes providing a listening and empathetic ear when someone has to cancel a reservation on short notice due to illness, surgery, or death.
How do you view hospitality? Is hospitality a lost art? Thoughts?
Hospitality to me is making others feel welcomed, included and being a part of an extended family. I too, agree that hospitality includes some delicious food that triggers the memory of oh, remember when my friend had us over for a wi yet sledding day. We were so cold after a and coming back to the house awaited us was hot coco, cookies and powdered sugar doughnuts! My initial thoughts were the delicious taste and warmth of the hot coco but now as an adult I remember the smell and feeling of being loved – my friends mother who took the time to provide for us cold and starving teens by showing her love for us for those immediate needs.