This year, we will be featuring a series of posts on the topic of soul care. This is the fourth in the series. For more resources on soul care, check out our recommended resources page at www.undercurrentsministries.com.
Clinking glassware and the tinkling of silverware mingle with laughter and the din of conversations. It is the melody that overlays a well-laid table surrounded by dear friends and family enjoying a moment that just might stretch into eternity. At least, that’s how it feels when you’re in the mix. It’s a heady moment that is so very full of goodness. Good food. Good drink. Good company. The world beyond the windows might be dark and cold, but in this space, there is reverberating love and communion. Surely this is what eternity is made of.
In the moment, we often forget that such feasts are the result of careful and intentional preparation. A series of actions and plans that can be called work. As much as we have attached a negative connotation to work, there is a kind of work that is good. The preparatory work of hosting is a beautiful and often enjoyable experience.
Throughout Scripture, we see patterns of feasting and preparation, and if we look closely we will discover that the preparation is not merely a means to an end, but of eternal importance. Preparation is the plan and execution for the day of the Lord, the day of feasting and rest (Exodus 16:5). It is also a pattern of operating that reflects God’s own character. We are told in Isaiah, Matthew, and Revelation that the Lord promises to prepare a feast and a home for his people. The Lord of all works to prepare good things for us- rest, feasting, and a home- because he loves us (Song of Solomon 2:4)
Jesus even says, “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the cripples, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed.” The feast is an opportunity to extend hospitality (welcoming love) to everyone the Lord invites to the table. Hospitality is the work of providing to guests, and the kind of hospitality the Lord teaches us is the cultivation of all that is good, beautiful, and true for the ultimate benefit of another.
As Paul says in Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
It’s not only what we think about such goodness, but that we put that goodness to work in our lives. Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (He provides everything I could ever want or need), He makes me lie down in green pastures (he has cultivated a safe place for me), he leads me beside still waters (He cultivates a visually peaceful, beautiful place for me to walk by), he restores my soul. The Lord bestows his eternal hospitality on us through his work on the cross by his Son, Jesus Christ.
Like him, we too can partake in the work of cultivating safe, beautiful spaces for others. In fact, we are commanded to. “A New commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) Over and over, he showed his disciples what God’s kind of hospitality looks like. It sees the needs of others (Matthew 14:13-20); it seeks to elevate others (John 2:1-10); it is love bestowed on anyone who would come (Luke 5:30, 15:2).
The ancient and medieval understanding of hospital and hospitality was born from the Latin root, hospes, which meant both guest and host. This understanding led to a system where guest, host, spiritual care, and physical refuge were melded together. A medieval hospital was not merely a place to escape death. They were places of rest, safety, warmth, healthy food, and prayer. And they were created to meet the needs of the homeless, the traveler, and the sick.
We have somehow lost hospitality in our modern age of patient care. We are really quite good at avoiding death and providing balanced nutrition. However, apart from those two things, can we actually say we create warm, safe places of rest and prayer to meet the needs of those in need? It is commonly understood that hospital settings are places of extreme stress. And I think we can all attest to the reality that it’s not merely the stress of facing mortality. There are added stressors. Having to wear hospital gowns, not understanding the vocabulary being spoken, a sense of losing autonomy, the reductionist perspectives of staff, etc.
We are in dire need of hospitality to be reintroduced to patient care. Cultivating that which is good, beautiful, safe, and true in our fields of work might not look like setting a table (though it might). It might not be the presentation of a feast, but it may be the preparation and prayer for a day at work. It might mean making room to spend with the Lord, so that he can cultivate my own heart before I pour myself out for others. Or perhaps it could be stepping back from extra work or activities to rest and care for my own soul, so that I have margin and bandwidth to notice and meet others’ needs.
Hospitality doesn’t need to be flashy; it just needs to be real. As real as Christ’s love to you. And you too can prepare, cultivate, and create beautiful, safe spaces for those in your care. Jesus will help you. Just ask him to teach you. Study his methods and obey the Holy Spirit as he nudges your heart. And you will find that this love in action will overflow in beautiful new ways.
Written by Sara Danielle Hill
Sara is a nurse, writer, and founder of Undercurrents Ministries. For more information about Sara Hill and her writing, head over to saradaniellehill.com
