Holy Spaces

Rev. Ellen Alston
Some of the most profound ways I have known God in my life have been through experiences of hospitality. As an itinerant PK (“preacher’s kid”), I know well what it means to be the new kid on the block, and I have been given space and welcome time and time again. On a mission trip to Russia, I was bowled over by the sacrifices made by Russians who had spent nearly a month’s precious and scarce income to make sure that we were “hosted” well, when our purpose for making the journey was to be of help and support to them! Whether in another time zone or in the aisle of my local grocery store, I am in awe of the way encounters with seemingly perfect strangers can have the quality of connecting as long-lost friends.

I keep learning how God truly lives in relationships, in the spaces between and among and in and through us - whose coming together really doesn’t much happen without some intentionality, or at least openness, on someone’s part. And opportunities abound: as Lauren Winner points out in Mudhouse Sabbath, “To throw a dinner party is not to abandon the poor; it is to begin hospitality with people you know.”

If your schedule is anything like mine, it is a rare occurrence to have some company over for a formal meal, much less an overnight. But what difference might it make in our lives, our journey, our day, to regard strangers as those to be welcomed and received on our pathways as family and friends? What would it be like to regard our family members and close friends as strangers about whom we are deeply curious and whom we seek to welcome in fresh ways? How might I intentionally choose an “extra step” to take that moves in this direction? I believe these musings and descriptions can well fit under the ample and gracious umbrella of “hospitality,” whose roots include the meaning of “shelter,” “power,” and “protection.”

And the ways I have experienced hospitality become reminders and teachers for the promise of my offering the same.

Would you sing (or at least hum) with me today…

“Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true.
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.”

AMEN!