Monday, April 16, 2007

In Light of Juli's Comments Sunday

When I read Shannon Hopkins' Monday Morning Questions (something she does each week and that I will be glad to share with you if you send me your email) about her missional experiences in London, I was impressed that she had in some ways responded to Juli's remarks about inviting people to a meal/investing in their lives. Here's what Shannon said:

Is Hospitality just about opening up your home? Actually I think it is less about opening up your home and more about opening up your life, however because we live in homes that is of course part of it. Hospitality is not about turned down sheets and chocolates on pillows, but it is about receiving others where they are at and allowing people space to rest and pause, a place to be themselves, and a place to wrestle with what is going on in their lives. And providing hospitality is as much about ourselves as it is about the quest for “one learns about himself as he is loved, annoyed, grieved, respected-all in community and with the guest” (from Radical Hospitality). Hospitality is a context that allows for us all to be sharpened and transformed.

Kinda cool, huh?

1 comment:

juli said...

i read her e-mail early this morning and, despite the fact that i had been up most of the night writing a ridiculous term paper, i found myself grinning. funny what community can do sometimes...even if it's a bagillion miles away :)