Tuesday, November 16, 2010
hospitality as mission: an intriguing take on church’s response to Constantine
An intriguing thought occurred as I read And You Welcomed Me: A Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity
Chapter seven is titled “Building a place of hospitality: Forms of institutionalization” and the book argues:
“As Christianity became more structured in the fourth century we see the rise of Christian institutions under the authority of the stage.” 215
It looks as roles – the development of bishops responsible for administering hospitality and buildings – lodging places for pilgrims, hospices; hospitals; almhousese “whose missions focused on hospitality, emerge as dominant forces by the early fifth century.” (215).
It was that sentence that made me sit upright. Earlier, the book had argued that Christian life must be rooted in otherness and that hospitality was a key way to understand one’s own marginal position. In other words, as you practise hospitality you are being formed spiritually in what it means to care not for yourself but for others, on what it means to be vulnerable.
So here’s the intriguing thought. When Constantine comes along, the church is welcomed into the centre of the empire. What if the church was aware of the danger – of power, of self-interest, of losing vulnerability? What if they responded by creating structures – places of hospitality and leaders in hospitality – in order to keep vulnerability, marginality at the core of their DNA? (How well they succeeded is another question)
It reminds me of the quote by Graham Ward in Cultural Transformation and Religious Practice
There is then a twofold work for those projects involved in developing transformative practices of hope: the work of generating new imaginary significations and the work of forming institutions that mark such significations, (146)
This is what excites me about cultural change. There is the tasks of dreaming, and then of generating, and finally of forming institutions that mark the changes. These were hospitals in the 4th century. And job descriptions for leaders that include mission (as I blogged about here).
And in the twenty-first century? For me, they include the Fresh expressions movement, or the new Missional Masters degree here at Uniting College, or the change of structures so that Uniting College has a missiology stream.
Friday, August 06, 2010
your place or mine? hospitality as mission
I’ve been asked to offer some input to a gathering of church leaders in Tasmania in a few weeks (August 20-22). The title they’ve given me is this: Your place or mine: hospitality as mission. I said yes because I think it names a fascinating tension and one that has been nagging at me in recent days.
Back in April I was pondering mission in relation to the Zaccheus story in Luke 19. I was struck by how Jesus does mission at Zaccheus place, at his table, inside his home. Which, when I thought about it, was the dominant way the Gospel stories portray Jesus. He doesn’t give hospitality. He receives hospitality.
The exception is the Waiting Father/Prodigal Son in Luke 15, which has often used to frame mission and encourage the church to open it’s arms in embrace. Yet note the context in which the story is told – Jesus accepting hospitality, not giving it. Fascinating stuff.
I took this insight to my bookshelf and went through all my books on hospitality. Wonderful books on the banquet of God and the embrace of God at the Eucharist. But sure enough, almost all are about hospitality at our place. We are the host and they focus on how we give hospitality.
Which can so easily become occupied with mission as people coming to us, our turf, our churches, our terms, our worship, our welcome, our websites.
Which leaves a wonderful tension: How to integrate hospitality with the pattern of Jesus? What does hospitality in Western culture mean at their place, not mine! Any insights welcome as I begin my preparation.
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