Confession: My Home is My Castle
The values we hold as a congregation are both true and aspirational. This means that we see the values lived out, but we also have a long way to go. Recently while discussing our value of hospitality with Mary I confessed, “We could welcome more people into our home if I did not resist the idea so much.”
Mary, being a great wife, encouraged me and corrected me, “We have people over a lot. Last night we had people over.”
“Yes,” I agreed, “BUT I usually think of our home as a castle. A Sanctuary. I prefer keeping people out, not inviting them in.”
Apparently, I am not alone in this. A fascinating blog entitled “Better than Starbucks” pointed out that Americans prefer anonymous individuality over connected communities. Two observations from this blog.
First: We’ve grown to love non-places—airports, shopping malls, and chain restaurants that often lack true human connection… We are users of these places, autonomous and separate from them. We can step in and out without anyone noticing.
Second: The irony is that the non-places to which we flee only alienate us further from the relationships and institutions that are so crucial to forming our identity and giving us meaning and fulfillment.
Hospitality invites people to step in and be noticed so that anonymity turns into connection. We can be hospitable, even if we prefer not to, by simply making space to grow into the richness of real relationships. The best place might be in your own home.
Here is the link to the actual blog. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/better-than-starbucks/
Kent Landhuis
Pastor of Teaching & Leadership
