Hospitality

This past Sunday, we hosted our annual end-of-the-year parish picnic. We all ate our fill of fried chicken, good sides and ice cream. The kids wore themselves out in the bounce house, sandpit, embankment slide, and brand new log cabin. The rest of us lingered in the shade, under tents, and along the sides of the nature playground. We all made room for one another. Christian hospitality is grounded in God’s extravagant welcome for all people and sets the table wide. It takes risks by welcoming others and being willing to be changed by them. 

Our reading from Hebrew Scriptures this past Sunday illustrated such hospitality well – Abraham sits at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Three strangers appear. He runs to meet them, bows, offering hospitality of water and rest and a meal. He doesn't know yet what he has opened his door to, only that strangers stand before him. What he receives is a promise fulfilled – Sarah, in her old age, will bear a son. And she laughs.

We are Abraham's descendants — not only by faith, but by practice. We embody the spirit of hospitality by doing it, over and over. We seek to welcome all with open doors and invite others to God’s table. It is a practice of respecting the dignity of all people. We are blessed. I am grateful.

This Saturday, we have another opportunity to practice hospitality – this time, in the streets of Washington, D.C. Parishes across the Diocese of Virginia are joining the Diocese of Washington to march in the Capital Pride Parade. (See more in the newsletter.)  This is a chance to walk publicly alongside our LGBTQ+ friends, neighbors,  and those we have yet to meet. This is an opportunity to follow Abraham and what he did — to run toward, not away from the stranger and say: there is room for you here. There is always room. And when we do so, like Abraham and Sarah, we will be blessed.

Abraham didn't know what his hospitality would bear. We rarely do. We show up anyway.

I invite you to show up on Sundays during the summer. Practice hospitality in a way that is authentic to you. 

Invite your neighbors to God’s table right here at Saint Peter’s.

— Jenifer+