Today's Scripture Reading (May 29, 2022): 1 Chronicles 16
One of the many jobs that my
grandparents had during their lives was as the owner-operators of a motel. I still remember as a kid spending time
at my grandparent's motel and staying in one of the rooms closest to
where my grandparents lived. Looking back, I have to admit that it was an unusual motel. For one thing, my maternal
grandparents were never late-night people. On the other hand, my paternal
grandparents were late-night people. But for my motel-running grandparents, there was a moment not too late
into the evening when my grandfather would routinely turn on the "No Vacancy" sign, even if there were still empty rooms at the
inn. Then grandma and grandpa started to prepare for bed. Scripture plaques also hung in every room, a reminder of the depth of the
faith of the proprietors.
I have also spent time
traveling with both sets of my grandparents. And traveling meant looking for a
restaurant at mealtimes and a motel/hotel to rent for the night as evening approached. And I do not remember ever
not being able to find either. Our mobile society is filled with places to find
food and a place to sleep.
But that wasn't true in the ancient world. Often visitors would
spend time camping in the town square, but there was also an expectation of
hospitality that existed for the inhabitants of every town or village. People
would routinely allow visitors to eat with them and a place where they could safely spend the night, knowing that sometime in the
future, they would be the ones who would be traveling and would have to depend on
the generosity of strangers. It wasn't just a nice thing to do, but hospitality was a cultural
expectation in a world where restaurants and inns were relatively rare. And examples of this kind of hospitality are
sprinkled throughout scripture. Jesus instructed his disciples that when they
went out into Israel communicating the Gospel, they were to …
… not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your
belts— no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals
or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. Whatever town or village you enter,
search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If
the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace
return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or
listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and
Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town (Matthew 10:9-15).
The disciples were to depend
on the people's
hospitality within the towns that they
would visit.
As David brings the Ark into
Jerusalem, first he makes sacrifices to God, something that he had not done the
first time that he had tried to move the Ark. But then David does something maybe a little
unexpected. David gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates
and a cake of raisins to every man and woman in Israel. The food was a form
of a peace offering, a sacrifice to restore the peace between God and his
creation. It was as if God had given them a meal and then invited them to sit
down at his table and eat with him. The shared food was an important example of
hospitality in a culture that made hospitality an important element of what it
meant to live.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Psalms 95 & 96
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