Day 25 – Grace Expressions – Hospitality #2

Luke 19:1-10

 PAUSE –
Take a deep breath, offer this time and your focus to the Lord with the Psalmist

      Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 

      Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.   Psalm 90:1-2

REJOICE in his goodness with Psalm 90:17

      May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
      Establish the work of our hands for us -
      Yes, establish the work of our hands.

Thoughts on Hospitality

Hospitality defined by John Mark Comer:

The practice of eating and drinking with people far from God is what the New Testament writers call “hospitality.” The word is philoxenia in Greek, and it’s a compound word: philo means “love,” and xenos means “stranger, foreigner, or guest.” Meaning Hospitality is the opposite of xenophobia. It’s the love of the stranger, not the hate or fear of the “other.” It’s the act of welcoming the outsider in and, in doing so, turning guests into neighbors and neighbors into family in God.

We can’t force a person to become a disciple of Jesus, nor would we want to.  But we can offer them a space where such change can occur, even if slowly over time.

         (Practicing the Way, John Mark Comer, 131)

READ and REFLECT - Luke 9:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.  A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So, he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.” So, he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Yesterday we looked at this text more from the perspective of Jesus. What he did. How the crowd responded, and what he declared about his mission.  Today, let’s consider this from the perspective of Zacchaeus.  But first, let’s consider a time or place where we felt like an outsider. 

• Can you think of a time when you felt you did not belong? Perhaps a time when you were intentionally excluded? Have you ever felt that others were talking about you, or a time when you were physically shoved aside? 

• Now, think of a time when someone invited you in? When you felt a physical relief and joy in being chosen? I remember on the playground at Olson school when 5th grader Tim Clemens chose me, a 3rd grader, to be on his kickball team. He put his arm around me and said, “You can always be on my team.”  Grace on the playground. 

Reread and REFLECT

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.  A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So, he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.” So, he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

         This time consider these questions as you sit in the tree with Zacchaeus.

• Imagine what it was like.  He was safe up in the tree.  He could see Jesus but not be harassed by the crowd.  And then Jesus stopped and looked up. Imagine his first thought. Was it fear?  Is Jesus going to publicly call him out? Is this going to be the most embarrassing day of his life? Is he in danger? Was it an embarrassment? Joy?

• Then Jesus calls him by name…  “He knows who I am?” 

• “Come down here Zacchaeus.”  “Oh no, what should I do?”

• Now imagine Jesus putting his arm around Zacchaeus and saying, “Show me where you live. I’m going home with you.” 

• Before the eyes of the crowd, Zaccheaus experiences a heart transformation and status change, no longer the “stranger” or the “outsider” but a beloved “chosen one.”

ASK –
Thank the Lord for his welcoming grace that has chosen you. Pray for someone you know who typically is left out. Someone who might be afraid to be seen by you or others. Pray for someone to welcome them in – to offer hospitality that is safe and genuine.  Ask if it might be you who could welcome someone in today.

YIELD –
Receive God’s grace today.  If you still feel like you are the “other”, the “stranger”, the “outsider” today, will you acknowledge that to the Lord and invite Him into that place of insecurity. And/or if there is someone who needs to be “chosen” ask the Lord for a next step in offering hospitality to the “other” today.

Lord, help us as we join in your mission to proclaim and provide…

• Freedom – of those held captive, imprisoned

• Recovery – of sight for the blind (restoration of what once was)

• Release – of those held in bondage, trapped, with no rights or resources

• Favor – Jubilee, the year/season of forgiveness of debts and new beginnings

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.