Maybe They Were onto Something

At Lafayette First Church of the Nazarene, we care deeply for the spiritual formation of entire families. We're formulating our goals in ministry to bring whole families into the life of Jesus Christ. As part of our discussion, my pastor shared with our church staff an article by Alan and Debra Hirsch entitled "Refocusing on the Family" from a chapter of Untamed as featured in Neue Magazine. In this article the Hirsch's claim the development of the nuclear family has been cultivated in a climate of aggressive consumerism and capitalism, and the model of the nuclear family is not congruent with that of Scripture. I was particularly struck by this comment:

Under such enormous cultural pressure and stress, families have become highly protective. They have become a fortress from the outside world--a defensive unit designed to keep the the cultural onslaughts at bay.

Because families have fortressed themselves in order to protect our cars, valuables, and things sentimental, Hirsch argues we miss out out on the chance to live out our missional mandate to be hospitable at all times. And I think he's right.

Though I don't have much, the little I do have is sentimental. The Stan Musial signed Spalding National League Baseball that my mom got when she was a kid when the St. Louis Cardinals were in Spring Training. The Ryne Sandberg Jersey and baseball he autographed for me last year. The guitar that sits in my office. Heck, even the books on my shelf. Though there's some tidiness to what I have, I'm still a hoarder.

I remember when I first learned about how the Monastics lived when I was in college. I read about their radical lifestyles; how they took vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty. Though chastity and obedience present unique challenges in themselves, I was always struck particularly by the radical nature of the vow of poverty. I had a college professor who told a story about an experience he had while completing his Ph.D. He was doing his doctoral work at a Jesuit University and his professor at the time had taken monastic orders. At one point my professor had borrowed a book from the Jesuit priest and when he took it back to give it to him he simply responded, "No, you keep it. It's your's now." He just gave it away.

Maybe its my cultural conditioning to think that when I lend something, I need it back in due time. Maybe I get worried that the things that are sentimental in my life might be taken away if I were to open up my life to being hospitable. When I think about that monk who has no face in my mind, I wonder how much easier it is for him to be hospitable when he's not really attached to anything material at all. Maybe they were onto something.

I've seen this Kingdom Hospitality in my life; Well, at least the fruit of it. When my lovely wife was growing up, her home was open to any who needed a place to be. One young lady who had it tough at home ended up spending countless weekends and entire summer's in Nicole's home. The line between "friend" and "sister" almost doesn't exist. Nicole talks to her like she's an older sister (she's 7 years older), fought with her like she's an older sister, and probably annoyed her like she's an older sister. But, the openness of Nicole's family has paid dividends beyond belief in the life of this young lady. Her life is oriented to the Kingdom.

As my family continues to develop and expand (Britton will be here any minute!), my prayer is that we'd be open to sharing God's hospitality in our home. It won't be easy--it will be a radical change of lifestyle.