Hospitality

Above:  A Soup Kitchen

Image Source = U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist Steve Johnson

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Joel 2:18-32/3:3:5

Psalm 65 (Morning)

Psalms 125 and 91 (Evening)

Romans 11:25-12:13

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Some Related Posts:

Romans 11-12:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/proper-15-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/week-of-proper-25-saturday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/week-of-proper-26-monday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/proper-16-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/proper-17-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/week-of-proper-26-tuesday-year-1/

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Then the LORD was roused

On behalf of His land.

And had compassion

Upon His people.

–Joel 2:18, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

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In the service of the LORD work not half-hearted but with conscientiousness and as an eager spirit.  Be joyful in hope, persevere in hardship, keep praying regularly; share with any of God’s holy people who are in need; look for opportunities to be hospitable.

–Romans 12:11-13, The New Jerusalem Bible

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TECHNICAL NOTE:

Versification of  parts of the Hebrew Bible differs depending upon whether one reads from a Protestant translation or a Jewish, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox one.  Such is the case in Joel, where 2:1-32 in Protestant versions equals 2:1-3:5 in Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox translations.  And Joel 4 in Jewish, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox versions equals Joel 3 in Protestant translations.

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Many houses in the rural U.S. South during the nineteenth century used to have a front porch, a back porch, and a connecting breezeway.  That was a time before electricity, much less air conditioning, in the region, so many people designed their homes to fit nature and the technology they had.  With that in mind, it was common for a kitchen to be separate from the rest of the house.  If there were a fire, the rest of the house would be more likely to survive.  And they could build another kitchen.

All that was quite practical.  So was another common feature of many such houses:  a guest bedroom which opened up onto a porch and not into any other room.  If a traveler needed to spend a night, such a room offered shelter.  This was both practical and hospitable, for there were no motels in many areas.  Hospitality, in many cases, made the difference between life and death, or at least between relative ease and undue hardship.  Hospitality was a virtue which more than one biblical writer extolled. The texts contain, in fact, condemnations of its absence.  Hospitality still saves lives and eases discomfort, as many who dispense or receive it can attest.

The affirmation of hospitality does not indicate a complete lack of accountability.  Read Joel and Romans, for example.  But hospitality does provide a counter-force, a balance.  There is a time to judge and there is a time to forgive.  There is a time to punish and there is a time to extend the hand of hospitality.  May we–you and I, O reader, get the balance correct.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 2, 2012 COMMON ERA

MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN PAYNE AND CUTHBERT MAYNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF HENRY BUDD, ANGLICAN PRIEST

THE FEAST OF JAMES LLOYD BRECK, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF JOHN PAUL II, BISHOP OF ROME

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Adapted from this post:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/devotion-for-january-23-lcms-daily-lectionary/

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