Nestle & Nurture

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This month in our series, Family Joy I am discussing old fashioned hospitality in an episode called Nestle and Nurture.

The practice of hospitality is a rich Christian tradition, with many examples in the Bible of gracious hosts who opened their homes to strangers. This was a widely practiced social custom in the Middle East, with its absence of inns and desert lodges. Encounters that come to mind are that of the patriarch Abraham, the Kinsman Redeemer, Boaz, and Lydia, the businesswoman of Acts 16.

Traditionally, the object of hospitality was a traveller, which is entirely different from our modern-day understanding, where hospitality is mainly restricted to family, friends and other acquaintances. Hospitality is not perfection but an attitude. It speaks of an open heart that leads to an open home.

Lydia, a businesswoman and seller of purple fabrics, immediately comes to mind. As a God-fearing truth-seeker, the Holy Spirit opened her heart, and she responded to Paul’s message preached to their little prayer group gathered beside the river. I find it fascinating that after she and her whole household were baptized, she immediately opened her home to Paul and his companions.

Hospitality is a genuine and practical way to show love for others. Jesus calls us to serve those whose lives and bodies are tired and broken, urging us to refresh, renew and strengthen them in a labour of love. In Matthew 25:40, He reminds us that whatever we do for the least of people, we do for Him. In the context of this parable of the sheep and goats, it is clear that He sees it as an act of worship worthy of an eternal reward. For this reason, we must understand that hospitality is not an optional extra for people with nice homes but a fundamental expression of our salvation.

At the centre of any hospitality, in my opinion, stands the table and that in spite of its diminishing role in the family as the following statistics seem to suggest. In the USA, 60 years ago the average family dinner lasted for a full hour-and-a-half or 90 minutes. Today, the average dinner lasts just 12 minutes.
In the States, researchers also found that the frequency of family dinners has gone down by 33% in the last 20 years. And even when families do eat together it's often in front of a television screen.

In the gospels Jesus taught his disciples to say grace, to serve and to pause and he did this every time through a meal. I believe we need to get a fresh vision for the Table and its lifegiving role in our modern society. Therefore, I want to challenge you this month to again make your table a place of beauty, a place of discipleship, a place of discipline, a place of celebration and a place of hospitality.