Last week, I got to host the 5th & 6th grade girls Bible Study group for an Afternoon Tea at our home. Several of the mothers were not quite sure of what was going to happen at this gathering. When I mentioned that I was serving hot tea out of my china cups, I was met with skepticism and rightly so! Eleven & twelve year old girls handling china with bubbling hot liquids… was I sure about that?
The verse for the day was Hebrews 13:2, which my daughter had chosen a few months ago for the tea party fellowship.
Hebrews 13:2~ Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
It is difficult to fully understand what that verse is talking about unless you know that it refers to Abraham in Genesis! So, we had to read the following passage:
Genesis 18 ~ 1Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, 3and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. 4“Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; 5and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.” 6So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” 7Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.
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Abraham was visited by the LORD Himself. Many say that the other two men were a part of the Trinity, while others say it was the LORD & 2 angels. Whatever the case, God came to Abraham. He comes, He cares, He is aware, He dines with us (Revelation 3:20) and He is involved in our hospitality to others.
The point of the gathering was to share a lesson on hospitality. If we treated everyone who came to our home as if they were sent by God, I think things might look a bit differently in our society. Hospitality is a hot button for me. I come from an Eastern culture that looks on Hospitality as a non-negotiable. It’s what you do – you prepare food for people and welcome them into your home. I wrote more about it here. Upon hearing about the tea party fellowship, one woman remarked that it must be easy for me, since I was taught by my mother to do that and she’s never had that in her family… my answer to that is so what? Why is that an excuse? If you have a home, you should open it to others. You don’t even have to cook – simply order food in, have a potluck, use your kitchen, gather together and rejoice!
As a new believer, I read Acts 2:46 which mentions that the newly formed Church met, broke bread together in their homes and ate with gladness. Why don’t we do that more often? My personal experience has been that for every TEN invitations I give, I am lucky to get ONE back. People don’t entertain, they don’t invite and they don’t meet in their homes. Now, we have had invitations to meet at restaurants… but rarely in homes.
My lesson for the girls was not just on how to drink tea from lovely cups… it went further than that. It was to cherish fellowship with one another. To eat and enjoy food together, giving praise to God the Father for ALL He has given you- including a Christian family.
May we remember to invite one another to our homes, may we share Christ in the breaking of bread together, may we pray for one another, may we grow up another generation of young believers who will open their homes and look more like the early church. Amen.
Amen, my Middle Eastern Sister in Christ. Sadly, so many of our friends don’t even think about hospitality because they don’t understand the purpose and blessing of sharing table with each other. I doubt that any of us think of a hamburger at our favorite place with a friend as “breaking bread” together. Sharing table is sharing life – our stories, our joys, our challenges. In that we find the opportunities for Christian action. We can’t wait until our homes are in perfect order, all the dishes match, the menu is perfection or we will wait until it is midnight in the world of opportunity. I,too, have had the blessing of having many people to brunch, lunch, dinner, dessert, etc but received only a handful of invitations to their homes. Sharing a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of water in someone’s home is of more value than being taken to a fine restaurant. Unfortunately, hospitality of this kind only happens when there is time left for it – not because there is time made for it.
It is a sad commentary on our time, that many new homes are being built without dinning rooms and in many older homes where there is a dinning room the dinning table is so covered with “whatever” that it can’t be used for dinning or the space has been re-purposed to be a home office, a craft room, a workout space, etc Our homes need a true family life center.
So blessed to be in your home again and I know the girls who were there were shown a measure of hospitality they may not often see and they learned a lot about the intersection of Christian love and a tea bag.
Thank you for being there & sharing in prayer and in presence. Love you!
Oh thank you, Mona, for you vision of hospitality! Yes, in western culture, we are generally wary of inviting people we know, much less people we don’t really know, into our homes. But we are called to fellowship. Even if we only serve store-bought shortbread cookies and coffee or tea at our tables, we are reaching out to God’s people.
YES! Thank you for that point! Store-bought is great… fruit is great. The point is to open our homes and our time. It’s a gift we can give to a world that is cocooned away… God calls us into fellowship with one another so we can share His love and hold one another accountable!
I love opening my home we usually do for friends and family passing through. We have even opened our home to families who have to come to Seattle area for medical reasons. We have gotten several 911 calls from people in need.
Barbara… what a blessing to have people like you! This is exactly what I’m talking about. Being open to opportunities and ministering to others in need. That is true hospitality!
Mona,
We spoke on the phone last week. I am the women’s ministry director at Denton Bible Church. I never received any information from you and am concerned that you may not have my correct email. So, I looked up your blog! If you are unable to see my email, then please call DBC and they can give you my email. Enjoyed visiting with you!
Rachel Pruett
THANK YOU for letting me know!!! I will send it again & will give you a call to make sure you got it! 🙂