Radical Hospitality--and Faith

“A closed mind is a sign of hidden doubt. The same [man] who is afraid to examine [his] belief in new relationships of thought is likely also to fear its bold application to those economic and personal affairs in which most of [his] daily concerns are to be found. [He] both closes [his] mind to evidence and refuses to stake the values of [his] common life upon [his] faith because [he] harbors a suppressed fear that it is actually not adequate.”
--Harold DeWolfe, “A Theology of the Living Church”

This coming Sunday we’ll be talking about “radical hospitality”. It would seem that the above quote reminds us that fear is often that which causes us to be inhospitable both to new ideas, as DeWolfe suggests, as well as to others. Hospitality, just as faith does, requires risk and a willingness to ‘walk through’ our fears and venture into the realm of opening up more ‘space’ in our lives. When we open ourselves to others we not only learn more about them but also more about ourselves – and I would argue that we also learn more about God as we build these new relationships. Let’s give it a try – try offering some “radical hospitality.”