By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Whakamanuhiritia tetahi e tetahi; kaua e amuamu.
‘Ia feagaleleia‘i o le tasi i le isi, e aunoa ma le muimui.
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
1 Peter 4:9
I love the logic of 1 Peter 4:9-11. The end of all things is near. So, 1) be alert so you can pray, 2) love one another, and 3) offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Put simply, Christ is coming; therefore, pray, love, and practice hospitality towards one another.
Here in these verses, hospitality is presented as a vital and tangible way of loving one another as the end approaches. Everything about the letter suggests that the people of God are scattered, fragile, and bruised. They are living in uneasy places in difficult times. Yet the way they live out the hope that is within them is by providing hospitality to their church family.
I appreciate how down-to-earth Peter is. “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” Why does he say it? Because he knows the truth of it. Hospitality is costly. With complicated people in complex times, hospitality is challenging.
But, hospitality is also a humble, genuine form of service to one another. It is a way to love one another and deepen relationships. Because it is costly and because it is challenging, it is an act of love that reminds us of the gospel.
On the cross, Christ was preparing for us a place at the Father’s table. We who did not deserve it are brought in and treated like family.
I’ve mentioned it before, but one of the most significant moments in my journey to faith was seeing a lunch table set and realising that the family who had invited me to lunch after church had set a place for me.
Nigel Pollock, a previous boss, once commented that the goal of hospitality is to move people from the office table to the café table, to the dinner table, to the communion table.
Lord, thank you for your own sacrificial hospitality towards us. May it be an example for us as we love the people around us.
