Visiting
It’s the end of the week here… i trust you have walked all the way to the end of another week with a heart full of peace. If you haven’t, ask yourself, “what can i do about that?”
Don’t stand outside, come in the house and join me for cool jazz and contemplative conversation…. we’re semi-live from the late evening cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge and every evening is pleasant. There is just something about this place, somehow people are inspired to stay engaged after they’ve eaten, and become involved in casual conversation. By observation, i would say most simply love to visit and be visited. This evening our contemplative conversation piece is about visiting and hospitality.
Visiting means attend to, pay attention to, seek out, go to and stay with, or to come to in order to comfort. The word “to” is used there expressing motion in a direction beyond ourselves. There is an action and a reason in it. Along with visiting, here is another of God’s attributes: hospitality, and wouldn’t you know, “visiting” and hospitality go hand in hand. i find The Lord to be the most hospitable person in the universe; he is generous to all who come to His house.
i think “visiting” and “hospitality” are something which has been missing from Christianity for a long time. As we all know, we can’t be pals with only so many people at a time, which is really only a few, but somewhere, somehow, taking time to talk to people, to see them and let them know they aren’t forgotten is important to happen. Ya know, you can’t give away what you’ve got if you’re not there to give it away. Do you visit? Are you hospitable? Or do you minister, and you have to say that with a big voice and draw the word out a little so it sounds VERY important to the listener: “minister”. Telling each other about how we “minister” to others has a certain “condescension” about it, almost, as if “visiting” and being hospitable wasn’t important and elevating enough. Friend, check your attitude at the door please. Think more about what is important to God rather than “how can this situation prosper my own agenda.” Think on that and i’ll be right back.
i find it interesting how many believers don’t visit, but they will tell you they “minister”. Many times we are invited to “minister”, as it would be called in the old religious vernacular, meaning to contribute and attend to in the sense of lifting up, not condescending to. i find, more often than not, most of us who come to “minister” as opposed to “visit”, come to tell answers… often to questions which may not have been asked yet, if ever. A difficulty lies in that we assume people know the questions which cause our answers to make sense. We show up, we “minister”, people smile and nod, and we leave, often much later retelling the story of the time when “we began to minister”. Jesus did, indeed, minister, which means… He was a servant, He attended people, He assisted and comforted, He was patient and took His time with people, …He visited. He was involved in the lives of people. He didn’t just sell them His books and CD sets, He didn’t make a market for Himself selling His DVD’s, booking events where He could make money, He was involved with people’s lives, He listened, He helped, He shared Himself with them and encouraged them to share themselves with Him. How much of yourself do you share with God? 10, 20, 40, 80%? More? Really? How can you tell? If you were to ask God to reveal to you how much of yourself you give to Him, what do you think He’d say? What can you do to change that?
In the early, early, early years of the church, the idea of giving money was partly for church leadership to propagate and support hospice, and not in the sense we have today as in a place to go only for those in their last days. The early idea of hospice was for hospitality and making a safe place for visitors and travelers. In fact, visiting and hospitality were thought of as an absolute essential action and attitude if someone was going to be considered for leadership. Hospitality was one of a candidates leading attributes to be assessed when being considered for a temple or church office.
St. Benedict wrote, “”Let all guests that come be received like Christ Himself, for He will say ‘I was a stranger and you took Me in.’ And let fitting honor be shown to all, especially such as are of the household of the faith and to wayfarers. When, therefore, a guest is announced, let him be met by the elders, with all due kindness. Let them first pray together, and thus associate with one another in peace . . . Let the leadership pour water on the hands of the guests, and himself as well as the whole community wash their feet . . . Let special care be taken in the reception of the poor and of wayfarers because in these things, Christ is more truly welcomed.”
Notice… Benedict didn’t suggest leadership delegate the lesser duties of pouring water and greeting guests to the “lower downs”, but as in the practice of humility for those elders in leadership. i hope i’m never too important to be humble and practice hospitality. Check your attitude at the door please.
James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” Of course, this is only one verse. Right, but doesn’t the whole of Scripture testify that one trait of Christ-likeness is caring for people the way God has cared for us? Let us consider how He has cared for us in order that we would know how to care for others.
When we visit with people we are more involved with their lives than just telling answers. Anyone who only tells answers doesn’t need friends but only subordinates. Do you typically just tell answers, assuming the other person actually knows the questions, or do you ask gentle open-ended questions which invite the other person into a dialogue, which is part of “visiting”? Answers don’t make much sense unless you know the question. Do you affirm the other person, practicing your reflective listening skills and summarize periodically, or are you only waiting until you can talk, marginally listening to the other person? Affirmation, reflective listening, and periodically summarizing are part of hospitality as well as visiting. It’s being involved with the lives of others. How has God cared for you?
When we were spiritual paupers, God gave us great grace. When we were spiritual widows, He became our bridegroom. When we were spiritual sojourners, He welcomed us into His home with all hospitality, and He visited with us. The idea of visitation and hospitality was associated with early monasteries so much so, they all had a spare room or two as a provision representing the hospitable heart of God towards strangers and travelers. When Jesus said, “Come unto me all who are burdened and heavy laden”, He was painting us a picture of God’s hospitable heart towards the “whomsoevers” of this world. Visiting is different from those who pose themselves somewhat aloof in saying they came “to minister”. There is something personal about visiting and hospitality, don’t you think?
When we were orphans, He adopted us into His family. It is the truth… spiritual growth involves active love for actual people. Love a flesh and blood person in need of your risk-taking, cross-bearing love which reaches beyond what is convenient for you. That’s exactly what James is getting at with the word visit.
i think this next part is fascinating. The word “Visit” is used throughout Scripture and it doesn’t mean to drop by for a donut and stay a moment. The root word is the word from which we get a word for pastor – one who comes near, a shepherd. The Greek word for pastor is “poimen”, which is a Greek derivative of the word we get our English word “poem” from, making the root attribute of someone who visits and comes near….A poetic visitor, or shepherd, meaning “one who tends and feeds, who has rhyme and rhythm”. Isn’t that interesting! A poetic visitor with Holy Ghost rhythm and rhyme. Wow, what visual! James is urging believers to “shepherd” the orphan and widow and to visit with them, being hospitable.
Luke 1:78, “Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us.” When God visited his people, He was involved in their lives and displayed His grace in their need. Visiting is MORE than just going “to minister”. It is meant as a hospice as associated with hospitality, not just palliative care for the dying, but providing and being a shelter of comfort, humble confidence, wisdom and hope for whomsoever is in need.
Hospitality means to be generous to guests. In Luke 7:46, it reads, “ You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.” Anointing was an act of hospitality, it was something that happened when visiting or being involved in people’s lives. And yea…i know…being involved with people’s lives is messy and inconvenient, but look at it this way, maybe while you’re visiting and being hospitable, it’s a good time to explore your own values and boundaries. i find i have often been instructed with learned ignorance, furnished by those who have assured me that they are wiser than myself.
Genesis18:2, “So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground.” Abraham gave them water to wash their feet; he called for food to be made. This is how hospitality looks. This is how visiting looks. Abraham was generous to his guests, they accepted his hospitality, and, sat down under an oak-tree. There was visiting and hospitality, how exactly does that NOT apply to us today, ‘cause i believe it does.
Romans12:12-13, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” There are five things there for us to model: hope, patience, steadfastness, distributing to those in need, and providing shelter and care. 1Timothy3:2 uses the title, “bishop”, who is a superintendent, elder, or overseer of a Christian church, saying, “a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach.” According to scripture, a bishop isn’t someone dressed in gold trimmed clothing walking around in glory, loving the accolades of the masses, taking peoples money, merely sitting in high places looking pious. A bishop is a title endowed on someone of true humility, wisdom, and given to hospitality and grace. Humility comes before honor my friends. That same overseer, or elder, according to Titus 1:8, must be a “lover of hospitality,” meaning, not just being hospitable as a requirement in order to satisfy a religious office, or striking a pose in order to maintain a title, but a “lover of hospitality”.
1Peter4:8-9, “And above all things practice the outstretched Love of God among yourselves: for His overwhelming Love shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” The word “love” in this verse is in the sense of practicing the “Agape” of God, without inwardly groaning because you have to make nice and smile about it.
Our true life motivation is In love, because of love, and due to the Love of God in our hearts…. from there….we “visit” and are “hospitable”.
Finding people who are willing to simply go and see others, listening to their stories without being religious, hyper-spiritual, or manipulative isn’t always so easy…remembering that those who visit due to love have to be “God raised”, not schooled, submitted, or titled into it. This is important: If people have to have a title to be important, well, they probably never will be important.
i’ve wondered if those who have a heart to visit and be hospitable are the real evangelists and shepherds, the real raisers of the dead. Those who “go out” should have a working vision of the Love of God (not gotten at a conference or from a book), as people of great grace for a world greatly in need of grace, people of God-worked-compassion-and-mercy, imparting courage, strength, and peace, who find rest in their time of visiting and hospitality. It’s not just an exhausting job, it’s an invigorating privilege.
We are to be given to hospitality, the sort of people who, indeed, are “submitted” but we don’t play “dominion games” with titles and self importance, we aren’t “owned”. We walk with a limp and won’t be bought.
God makes us who we are, people of Great Grace. He brings those sorts of people in, and they are often like “secret agents”… in that they are willing to be unknown, having titles but refusing to announce themselves, giving away what they’ve got, being sons & daughters of the Living God. We who believe on Jesus ARE the children of God Almighty, not slaves of a disavowed and fallen ex-worship leader who encourages us to play on a religious grid of elitism….we need the kind of people who “get on a plane and get gone”, who have the nerve, on behalf of others, to ask the Lord for all the favor He will give them, people of audacious faith. Does that seem ambitious to you? i think it sounds like the “Real life of a true believer”.
The real Evangelists and Shepherds are more than just people who go down town and quote Bible verses, tell about Jesus, and “minister”. It would seem the responsibility of all believers (who are “testators” and do “testify”) is to open their hand to others as a profession of their faith. Real Evangelists and Shepherds go out in earth trembling power, in life changing, chain-snapping, rope-cutting, heavy-load-loosing, darkness rebuking, life-changing power…and the gospel is seen in the momentum of their lifestyle, not just because they stand and speak gospel words, and “minister”. The gospel of God is more than just telling answers, singing great songs, having good programs, and making good sermons. If that’s all it was about, we would have long ago entered Heavens gates. It is BEING the people of Great Grace! Think about it.
i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, a live broadcast in the late evening hours, reaching out to those who are still awake for… whatever your reasons are, possibly tossing and turning trying to rest, caught in the grey place between awake and asleep.
This production was brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, the brilliant minds at Area 22 Guitars, Art Fuller at Skyland Battery and Ignition, Dan over at Dan’s Restaurant, Bob Cheadle, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.
Music was by the Pete Minger Quartet, Joe Beck, Jake Langley, J.J. Johnson, Benny Golson, and Larry Coryell. All music use is licensed by BMI.
Visit a friend this week, take the time to be involved with someone’s life besides your own. Open your hand and offer hospitality as God has offered it to you, He always cares about the details of our lives. Read your Bible, the Lord has a great deal He’d like to talk to you about. Thanks for joining me and i’ll catch you next time.