“With one mind they kept up their daily attendance at the temple, and, breaking bread in private houses, shared their meals with unaffected joy, as they praised God and enjoyed the favor of the whole people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those whom he was saving” Acts 2:46-47.
As someone who loves to cook for others, this passage from Acts caught my attention. In fact, it sounds like daily worship and the shared meals are equally important in building up the early Christian community. Over the years, I’ve offered meals as a particular form of Christian hospitality. For a while, I prepared monthly congregational lunches for a church in Utica. Most recently, I’ve been baking for Dining Room Ministry. Giving hospitality in the form of meals feels “right” to me and part of fulfilling my calling.
But receiving hospitality can be harder for me to do. For several years, I provided occasional rides to church for a woman in my neighborhood. She was visually impaired and I was glad to assist in this modest way. So when she invited me to dinner at her apartment as thanks for my transportation, my first thought was, “She doesn’t need to do that.” I told myself that her limited finances shouldn’t be forced to extend to feeding me. But that’s when I recognized that what I really needed to do was accept her gift of hospitality. I’d been comfortable as a hospitality “giver,” but it was only through the power of the Holy Spirit that I came to see that receiving hospitality could hold its own special form of blessing.
Gracious God, bless us as we give hospitality and when we receive hospitality. Show us the ways that each can be a way of living out our Christ-centered faith. Amen.
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