welcome

Benvenuto. Bienvenue. Bienvenida.

Wel-come.

Good. Come.

Hospitality has been a constant theme running through my life. As a college kid, my roommate and I hosted crab feasts for our friends in the summer. I invited people into my parents’ home, even though it felt awkward because sometimes my family was embarrassing. When I was on my own, I held dinner parties in the home I shared with 4 others and created a hub of activity for young adults like myself. My husband, who was one of those young adults benefiting from those dinner parties, had a similar desire to open our home to guests.

As this new year has gotten started, I’ve been walking through the six practices at the heart of Lectio365, the devotional I use each morning. They include hospitality, and on January 3 we looked at a scripture in the book of Revelation about God’s home with us.

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them…” (Revelation 21:3-4) The verses go on to talk about a place without tears, pain, or mourning. The perfect home!

In my vacation home, you enter through a rear door and into a mudroom. There is a hardy tile floor, hooks for coats, a bench to sit on when removing your shoes, and baskets where you can find a pair of slippers for the house. It is a welcome center that says, “Leave your burdens here, get comfortable and come on in.” There is often something aromatic simmering in the kitchen, other people in warm conversation, or sometimes just much-needed peace and quiet.

That is the ideal. Everyone is welcome and feels loved.

There have been a few times though that the opposite has happened - I have invited someone into my home and couldn’t wait for them to leave. I was offended usually by something they said or did. Usually, they crossed some unspoken (or sometimes spoken) line I had established, some boundary I generally don’t want people to cross. Which can be:

Being ungrateful (I actually had someone demand to know when dinner would be ready)

Being contrary (conversations gone wrong or arguing for the sake of arguing)

Physically coming into a no trespassing zone uninvited

Being physically destructive

When I feel taken advantage of (too noisy, staying up too late, staying too long)

Would I be able to overlook these things? Should I?

Ultimately, this home is temporary, but it is a picture of what is to come. Is my home a place where people feel first of all invited, and do they feel safe enough to unload their burdens and rest? And am I able to overlook the crossed boundaries for the sake of loving people well?

God invites us to His home. “Leave your burdens at the door, come in and be with Me. There is joy forever here. There is rest.” And He forgives and overlooks the imposition on His space. He doesn’t cling to His right to a perfect home.

In the story about Jesus visiting Martha’s home, Martha was clearly annoyed at Mary, and maybe also Jesus for not reminding Mary to get up off the floor and help her sister out. He was the reason the things had to be done.

Christmas week, when my large family gathered at our vacation home, I had to fight the urge to be Martha…so much has to be done and all I can see is a messy house, dishes to be done, hungry people to feed. But Jesus invites me to be Mary - enjoy the relationship of these people. Overlook the infractions on your boundaries. They won’t always be here. They won’t always want to be with you. You have now. Enjoy it.

Psalms 128:3-4 says, “Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table. That is the Lord’s blessing for those who fear Him.” Olives produce oil and often oil is used in Scripture as a symbol of relationship. Good relationships are worth investing in, and should be the most important thing in this earthly life.

As I broke down that word, ‘welcome’ in three other Latin-based languages, it is obvious the idea is, “it is good that you have come.” When we say “you are welcome here,” we are communicating that it is good that you have come. I am better because you are here. You will be better because you have come.

When a person comes to my home, are they and am I better because they have come? Have we imparted something to each other?

(this was actually a relatively clean moment)