Sharing, Generosity, and Hospitality

Silent Reflection

After reading the Scriptures for this week, take some time to simply pause and reflect before moving on to the remarks.

Remarks

Last week, we spoke of the household of Abram and their radical commitment to each other. We saw this in the story of Abram selflessly setting aside his own preservation and personal fulfillment to choose a wife who would have been considered unworthy by most. We saw this when he humbly set aside his position as the elder and let his nephew Lot choose his direction and inheritance. We saw this in the household’s commitment when, following Abram’s example, they set out to rescue their brother from the socio-political chaos that he willingly inserted himself into.

As we journey forward in Abram’s story, we continually see his commitment to his household lived out. We see Abraham pleading with God against the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. We see Abram greatly distressed over the sending away of Hagar and Ishmael (so much so that God has to intervene). We even see it in the story of the akeda, the binding of Isaac, in Abraham’s refusal to leave the side of his son and shirk his commitment to him, no matter what faithfulness demands.

But this same commitment will bear fruit in other ways, filling the pages of his story. These people are committed to the wellbeing and safety of more than just their own friends and family; they are radically and wholly committed to The Other, as well, whoever that may be.

This commitment to others, the rabbis and sages teach us, has miraculous implications. In another Genesis story, Abraham, after a name change and a surgery, sits in the shade and considers the lessons God is teaching his household. It seems this covenant of circumcision is a lesson in continuing to learn about the place of all people in Abraham’s family. Circumcision served as the great equalizer — making all men and women equal in this “people of promise.” Whether they are slaves or patriarchs, true-born sons or sons of slaves, circumcision signifies that they are all equal participants in the promise and mission of God. They all bear the truth of this covenant.

As Abraham sits and ponders these things, he sees three strangers in the distance. Abraham’s instinct for generosity kicks in and he immediately runs to greet these others; it’s as if anyone is a potential guest in Abraham’s mind. And note: Abraham doesn’t run to meet them because he is obligated by the statutes of God — he has no law. No, this hospitality is something deep inside of him. This is a part of his spiritual DNA. This is who he is.

He runs to them without the slightest idea who these visitors might be. Think about that: running… after a circumcision…

Abraham runs, even in the midst of recovering from a surgery that would have halted the toughest men. But Abraham doesn’t even hobble. He runs.

He runs because he has an opportunity to bless a weary traveler, to show them some of the selfless hospitality that has the potential to change the world. He pleads with them to stay, to rest, to be refreshed. When they finally accept, he pulls out all the stops. He calls for Sarah to get out three seahs of their best flour and make bread. At around 60 pounds of flour, that’s enough bread to feed an army.

Perhaps one could diminish this incredible act of generosity; after all, we are told that Abraham has a huge household (318 people, remember?), so how hard could it be for Sarah to make all of this bread when she has hundreds of servants? And yet, the sages say that what Sarah did that day was a miracle. Literally, a miracle.

The miracle wasn’t the quantity she offered, it was that she offered herself, selflessly, to serve others, even when that action seemed foolish and impossible — even unnecessary. Again we see this radical commitment to The Other isn’t just a quality of Abraham. It is a commitment of his household. They are on mission together; they carry the sign of a new covenant. They are here to serve and bless others, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or where they are going.

And the rabbis teach that when you are willing to lay down your life in these ways, miracles happen.

Abraham will run from there and prepare a small goat; again, enough food to feed a small village, and he will stand by his visitors, serving them while they eat. The simple power of sharing, the blessing of generosity, the potency of hospitality changed the course of human history, and if you ask the people who live there today, it changed the landscape of an entire people group who call this geographical land their home. They are children of Abraham, and to this day, they have a radical commitment to hospitality.

Maybe this is why God chose to work through this family to change the world.

Centuries later, in a completely different land, under Roman occupation, and under what many people will refer to as another “new covenant,” this same attribute is still what we find as the defining characteristic of God’s people and the mission they are bringing to the world. They are still people who know how to share, how to be radically generous, and how to show a supernatural hospitality to the world.

And the book is called the “Acts of the Apostles” (not “Ideas of the Apostles” or “Great Theology of the Church”) because this commitment to acting in generosity and sharing with others even when it is difficult is still the fertile soil in which miracles continue to happen.

Silent Reflection

Take some time to pause, reflect, and listen.

Response

Return to this week’s Scriptures each day as you respond throughout the week.

1. As we reflect on this characteristic of God’s people, throughout the ages and across two testaments in our Bible, would this same characteristic still mark the people of God in our culture?
2. What are ways that we could grow and become more like the family of Abraham in our own practice — as individuals, families, groups, and churches?
3. Think of something you could do this week in some context that would show an abnormal gesture of generosity or hospitality. Share with the group what that realistic action will be this week.
4. Come back and share the story of what happened next week.