Hospitality

11 May

“Hospitality should have no other nature than love.” ~ Henrietta Mears

Jesus was the paragon of virtue.  One of the virtues He taught by word and example was hospitality.  In the Gospel of John, that was the basis of His very first miracle.  He was at the wedding feast in Cana and the wine had run out.

That was a horrible faux pas for the bride and groom.  They were required by their laws of hospitality to provide for their guests for as long as the guests were with them.  To run out of wine at the celebration would have been a “sin” against the laws of hospitality.  Jesus helped them by turning the water into wine.

At other times in the gospels, Jesus says or does something that enables people to be more hospitable.  On the night before He died, Jesus washed the feet of the apostles and challenged them to do the same.  Thus, He taught them about serving one another in hospitality, grace, peace, and love.

Love was always the common denominator.  Love was the greatest commandment for the Israelites and Jesus reaffirmed that when someone asked Him what the greatest commandment was:  You shall love the Lord your God with all your strength, with all your mind, with all your heart and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Jesus reminded them, in His answer, that all the laws were based upon those two commands of love.

When I was a child, my mother really harped about hospitality.  She taught us that we needed to be kind and courteous to all people.  In today’s day and age, that lesson seems to be left by the wayside and people appear to be living more for themselves than for others.

However, the lesson that Jesus gave His apostles at the Last Supper is still important.  We are to serve as He has done.  We are to put the needs of others before ourselves.  And we are to do all of that out of love and in response to the love that God has for us and showers upon us.

FAITH ACTION:  Try to be hospitable to all today and, if you are able, teach your children about the virtue of hospitality as well.