Text: Luke 19:1-10, Genesis 18:1-10, Genesis 19:1-11
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
– Luke 19:5
We had just moved to a new Army post a few months earlier, and my husband was working long hours. It seemed my daughter or I were always sick – just enough to need to stay at home. When the one friend I’d made suggested playdates, I’d turn her down. I was tired, and my house wasn’t in a shape I’d deem “playdate ready.”
One morning I heard a knock on the door and there she was, coffee for us both in hand, her two kids rushing in. She was smiling sheepishly and said, “I don’t care if the house is a mess or if you have a cold – we missed you.” Her bold kindness has stuck with me for several years.
We are a culture that has put in place nearly impossible standards for our hosts and ourselves. Birthday parties must be perfect, dinners need to be Instagram-ready, even play dates have become themed.
What we’ve lost in the perfection is the comfort and companionship that comes with being with another person in their mess. It’s not about living in filth – it’s about making relationships more of a priority than the homes they take place in.
Guests are revered in the Bible. The angels that visited Lot in Genesis 19 were hidden inside as the men of the town yelled for them to be brought out. Lot attempts to protect his angelic guests by welcoming them at any cost.
In Luke 19, we see Zacchaeus, amid all his outward flaws, as the perfect host. No excuses, no rushing ahead to clean, no rescheduling. He climbed down and took Jesus to his home. Since he was able to focus on the blessing of Jesus asking to be his guest, he was also able to see the bigger picture in the invitation of salvation.
Hospitality is rarely convenient. We must be willing to interrupt the lives of others and be interrupted in our own to truly experience hospitality as Jesus practiced.
Jesus boldly asked to be a guest with Zacchaeus, knowing others would be shocked at Him spending time with such a man. He knew the message this would convey to Zacchaeus – “I care about you, I want to spend time with you.” How often do we do this with our friends? Someone in your life may need you to push the boundary a little before they let you into their home or heart.
Jesus and Zacchaeus offer the ideal setting for hospitality— bold asking, enthused acceptance. As we look at our relationships with others, where can we step into one of these roles and allow others to see our mess? Where can we take part in another’s real life? What are we missing out on if we are not willing to do both?
I’m thinking of how this extends to other aspects of my life aside from inviting people over/being with people physically. Shortly before I read this, I called my brother needing him to help me with a problem. The whole time I was so concerned about fixing my issue that I failed to even ask him how he was doing. Turns out he had a hard conversation with someone this morning and was having a bad day. I was so wrapped up in myself and getting done what I needed to get done that I did not allow him to interrupt what I was doing to talk. I cared more about myself than about him. Really struck home for me.
This whole study has been so redeeming to me! We are in the process of having a young girl, a former student of mine, come stay with us so she can graduate high school. Selfishly, I’ve been worried how this will interrupt our lives even though I really believe God wants us to step in and help. Please pray that I can be stronger than my selfishness and truly make her feel welcome!
I felt the same way when I took in a family that was homeless I wanted to help but I also worried about the disruption to our lives and even the mess but when you let God take control of everything, things work out better than you ever imagined. Yes, it’s a struggle sometimes but the blessing of helping someone in whatever context you can is by far the greatest thing you will ever experience. I pray that you see past the disruption and see that this is an opportunity to be Gods hands on earth.
I SO can relate to this idea of feeling my house needs to look perfectly straightened and freshly cleaned before inviting others. But then I started embracing “the lived in look”. It’s not dirty but not a museum either. You can tell people live in my home; can tell what we do. Guests can see a guitare out and know I was playing, they can see a DVD on the coffee table or see a blanket on the couch and know I was curled up in it recently. “It looks lived in and that is okay.” This is a new thought I’m trying to embrace, having been engraved in my head by my mother that guests require a not lived in look to the house. But I don’t want to be a Martha, worried about unnessariy things and miss out on building relationships. And hey! People can bond in the midst of mess and imperfection! Relationships and relateableness can be found when we see that everyone’s house looks lived in sometimes! It’s freeing, it’s almost fun, it’s benifical to embrace the lived in look.
God has really taught me this lesson as I lead a weekly young women/college aged Bible study in my home. With a toddler at home, the house isn't always "people ready" and I've learned to just accept it and show that to the girls. It's been freeing and also good for them to see what a real home looks like.
I don’t like visiting people…..neither do I like being visited. This is going to be hard for me…..but I know Christ will help me welcome the interruption…..Amen
I realized I need a bigger table ;) I loved this today!
I had a friend randomly stop by the other day. We are a week out from moving. All of my normal clothes were in the wash. I had on mismatched clothes, my Fred Flintstone style slippers (they are ginormous but I wear them for the built in orthotics), and the house was a crazy scattered mess. My two year old took to peeling all of the wrappers off of every crayon we owned and threw them all over the floor. I felt embarrassed at first but then realized how silly it is that we as women feel we must make everything so perfect. I set a pot of coffee on and welcomed her in with open arms. If we are truly honest with ourselves, our homes cannot be perfect all of the time. We live in them. We get busy and things are sometimes messy. Hospitality is rarely convenient. Love it! Thanks SRT! http://unspeakablejoymovement.blogspot.com/2014/1…
felt the Holy Spirit revealing to me in these three passages the various dimensions of hospitality….
Zacchaeus showed it through his willingness to have a guest spontaneously at his home.
Abraham demonstrated hospitality by his generous provision for the three men and his honor for them.
Lot exemplifies courage and protection in his hospitality to the two angels.
while no one shows perfect hospitality except for Jesus, i was excited today to have the reminder that each of us will use the gifts God has given us to meet the needs of those He places in our path. hospitality looks different among different people and among different needs. but collectively all three of these examples today give us a deeper understanding and also a challenge to look for ways that we can be spontaneous and willing to be interrupted, generous with our time and our possessions, and bold enough to protect those who are vulnerable.
just a lot to mull over today from the scripture….