Values are the things that undergird a particular community’s way of being. They are the building blocks of how communities operate and what motivates them.
Here at Rez, we have identified five values that we want to inhabit as a community. They are liturgy, sacrament, Scripture, formation, and hospitality.
The third value on our list is hospitality. Classically understood, hospitality is hosting, feeding, and serving others. The hospitality industry is made up of sectors such as hotels, restaurants, and customer service to name a few. However, the Bible understands hospitality as something different; something that isn’t outsourced but rather practiced together in community. This way of hospitality is motivated by the image of God in others.
At Resurrection Anglican, our approach to hospitality, first and foremost, is a reflection of our theology. As we experience and encounter the loving God who dwelt among us, we do as he did: we eat and celebrate, serve and care for others. We take seriously everybody who comes through our doors and into our home and church. C.S. Lewis said it well in his book, The Weight of Glory. He said, “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”
Eugene Peterson calls this kind of hospitality eucharistic. The word literally means “to give thanks.” When we give thanks to God for the love he has shown us, it looks like loving others in the same way he loved us: sacrificially and generously. As it says in 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.”
When we practice this kind of eucharistic hospitality we experience God himself because all people are created in the image of God. When we host people for a meal, we dine with Christ. When we help somebody move, we serve Christ. When we open our homes and families to others, we open these things to Jesus.
We believe this is a hospitality worth practicing. We’d love to share it with you. If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out to Fr. Kyle.
