To Those On The Outside: Welcome!
Hospitality; it's a strange word, a misunderstood word, a word that often seems old-fashioned. Yet, when I delve into scripture, I see how hospitality is a radical concept, an essential part of following and honouring God. I use the word "radical" because God's hospitality goes well beyond being the perfect host by making a scrumptious meal in a tidy house for our friends, family, and worthy guests. It goes far beyond the order, cleanliness, and good manners that seem to be equated with hospitality.
Radical hospitality welcomes strangers, foreigners, and those judged and seen as unworthy. It has this messy, ugly, and chaotic quality about it. It asks us to be "all things to all people". It embraces those cast aside and oppressed, those living in squalor, and those who wreck our plans. Radical hospitality says to our neighbours, even the most annoying and aggravating neighbours, "you are always welcome here".Radical hospitality goes well beyond norms and takes us out of our comfort zones by embracing the unembraceable. It will often make us loved by the unloveable, but it can also make us unloveable by the loved. Radical hospitality takes courage. Radical hospitality takes a leap of faith. Radical hospitality cannot ignore the unjust treatment of the poor and oppressed. Radical hospitality is love in action. 
When Jesus said, "as you've done it to the least of these, you've done it unto me", he highlighted how he is hungry, thirsty, a stranger, in need of clothing, sick, and in prison. His message is abundantly clear; give what's needed to those in need, welcome those in need of welcoming, and visit those that need visitors. This is the essence of hospitality to Jesus, where his followers embrace this radical nature that takes us out of our living rooms and into hospitals, prisons, and nursing homes. It takes us under bridges, into squalor, and to the lonely. It takes us to the street corners to invite anyone we can find to our meals.
In this parable of the Sheep and Goats, Jesus was clear that if we do this, we please God, and he'll reward us. But he made another thing clear, if we ignore those in need, "as you've not done it to the least of these, you've not done it to me", we anger God, and we'll be judged. He's basically instructing us, if we want to be like Jesus, to invite and visit those who aren't able to repay us.
Hospitality wasn't a new revelation Jesus brought and radicalised. Radical hospitality has always represented the heart of God. This is highlighted in Genesis when we see how God was pleased with and rewarded the hospitality of Abraham and Lot while being enraged by and punishing the inhospitable folk living in Sodom and Gomorrah. Since the birth of this earth, God has always wanted us to be radically hospitable.
Three men visited Abraham where they received unparalleled hospitality. They were given respect, rest, drinks, and a feast before one stayed to discuss an important matter, while the other two fellas set off to Sodom, where they were greeted at the city's gate by Abraham's nephew, Lot. As was the custom, they had planned to spend the night out in the square, but Lot knew how utterly degrading and sickening the men of his city could be, so he insisted they stay in his house. Being a good host, Lot provided the same kind of radical hospitality as his uncle.
It is at this point that the crazy starts. We see the stark contrast between Lot's radical hospitality and this vulgar display of inhospitality from the city's men, who attempt to violently dominate and shame their guests. At this point, I give a trigger warning to anyone who's faced sexual violence because some stomach-churning stuff is about to take place.
A gang of men came to Lot's house to rape the visitors. Lot pleaded with them to go away, he even scarily offered his virgin daughters to them, but their eyes were only fixated on violating these visitors. With Lot blocking their way, they became so outraged they threatened to do even worse to him. Just as they were going to break down his door, the 2 men (who were angels) grabbed Lot, pulled him inside and blinded these thugs, preventing anyone from being beaten, raped, and possibly killed. From here, the angels helped Lot and his family flee the city before it was destroyed by burning sulphur.
The attempted gangrape had absolutely nothing to do with sex. It also had nothing to do with gay men lusting after new men in town. It was all about control and violence. Such perverse actions were not uncommon during this era, as we have a similar account of this type of horrendous sexual violence against a visitor in Judges 19. This sadistic behaviour had everything to do with hurting others, shaming others, ridiculing others, dominating others, enslaving others, and using violence to show off their power and superiority to the world. Inhospitality has consequences, it results in wars, revenge, feuds, and the rejection and casting out of those who happen to be different and marginalised.
God calls us to "love our neighbours as ourselves", but Sodom did the exact opposite by showing us what a brutal picture of inhospitality looks like. As the Prophet, Ezekiel wrote centuries later...
This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it. (Ezekiel 16:49-50)
What saddens me is how Sodom's destruction has been and is used to provoke hate crimes, made into a vicious weapon of discrimination to ridicule, punish, isolate, victimize, and even execute those who identify as LGBTQIA. Let me make this abundantly clear: the judgement on this city has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with consensual homosexual relationships and everything to do with their pride and the ways they abused and treated others. Abraham, Lot, and the thugs of Sodom remind us of how God desires us to treat outsiders. In actuality, Genesis 19 is not a passage about exclusion, but inclusion, it is a passage that should be used to radically accept and welcome those in the queer community.
Centuries later, the writer to the Hebrews soberly reminds us how important hospitality is. In all likelihood, the author was thinking of what happened in Sodom and Gorromah, when they wrote: "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."
Those who choose to be radically hospitable live in tension, in fierce opposition to all those who harm, bully, and use violence against those viewed as unsightly, nuisances, and threats. One chooses to put their neighbour first, while the other chooses their asset or to put what they covet first. One seeks liberation for their neighbour, while the other seeks to control and regulate. One loves the stranger, while the other ignores and is indifferent to them. Being radically hospitable is risky and dangerous. Lot was almost murdered for defending his visitors, and Jesus was tortured and murdered for defending, healing, and chilling with the poor, blind, and suffering.
When we choose to be radically hospitable, we find ourselves in fierce opposition with others, whether we like it or not. We will end up making certain people angry. Jesus is our prime example. When he saw a blind man in need, he healed him on a Sabbath, which infuriated those who regulate the system, but he did it anyway. When Jesus went to Zacchaeus' house, he was judged for having a meal with such a hated and despised man. But he did it anyway. Despite seeing others whisper about him and hearing outright rebukes, Jesus always chose love over the rules, religiosity, and consequences. He did it anyway. He was constantly judged, challenged, threatened, and they even plotted to kill him. He did it anyway. Jesus always chose radical hospitality and never waivered from doing these acts of love.
When I started working at Cornerstone Community Outreach, I learnt quickly that we couldn't just be hospitable to those needing a bed, food, and clothing without people opposing our efforts. Neighbours can be so cruel. In 2001 we expanded and opened a men's shelter and the opposition became even more vicious and ugly. They did not want to see homeless men in their neighbourhood. They felt these men were unsightly and brought down the value of their properties, so they created rumours, organised meetings, went to politicians, told lies, yelled at the poor men just trying to survive, called the police, and yelled at us. Despite their protests, despite creating a hostile environment, our job was to keep on being radically hospitable, and that's what we did!
I hate to acknowledge it, but there's always been those who've come up against our efforts, and sometimes they win and laugh in our faces. This happened with the men's shelter. It was bitterly hard and depressing when the "powers-that-be" listened to the inhospitable voice and shut those doors. I wanted to give in, I wanted to scream "screw this", I was mad at God for allowing these "haters" to win. But I knew God loved these fellas, I knew I had to take a leap of faith, I knew I had to keep on going, I knew I had to keep fighting for my homeless brothers, and I knew I had to find other ways to be radically hospitable. In this case, it didn't end in despair, the journey continued, a closed shelter turned into outreach which turned into another men's shelter, which is still open today. (for reference, please read: Dejected, But Not Forgotten!)
Paul encourages us in Galatians, "so let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time, we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit."
There's a unique spiritual power in being radically hospitable that is lasting, it brings peace, it brings compassion, it brings forgiveness, it brings mercy, and it brings love into a world in desperate need of healing.
My cry is: Let's choose to be radically hospitable, together, and watch our world heal in beautiful restorative new ways...
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