Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/623149
January/February 2016 35 Scripture: John 4:1–30, 39–42; Acts 2:44–47 When I think of the word hospitality, I automati- cally think about food and eating. Meals and hos- pitality have gone hand in hand my entire life. Growing up in a Korean home, eating together was the definition of hospitality. I learned the art of sharing, serving and presenting colorful food to guests through the meals my mom and dad would prepare for company. It was, and continues to be, such a joy for them, I learned that hospitali- ty is connected with joy. The first time I connected hospitality with com- passion was on a trip to the Philippines. I was part of a delegation learning about the issues the country faces, especially around poverty. On one of the days, we had an immersion experience with a community living in a large landfill. We prepared a large pot of rice and lots of chicken and shared it with the community. Then each of the delegation members went to the home she or he had been assigned to for the night. Spending the night in the landfill community was overwhelming, initially. All of our senses were engaged. After a while, though, that faded into the smiles of a people happy to welcome us to their homes. We ate, sang and laughed together. Even when language was a barrier, many things were communicated and shared. Two girls, who looked no older than 10 years old, but apparently were in their mid-teens, guided me to my shelter for the night. It was a shack made of wood and other pieces found in the land- fill. There was a battery-operated lamp glowing inside. As I followed the girls, they gestured for me to wait at the entrance. What they did next astounded me. They used a makeshift broom to sweep the floor, then laid a blanket on the wood- en floor. They gestured me in to sit. This show of hospitality should not have surprised me as much as it did. I was part of a beautiful exchange between people who lived worlds apart. They extended grace and compassion toward me when I was far from home. I learned that day that hospitality and compassion is always an exchange. We did not just bring food; we ate together. Rather than leaving after the community meal, we gave the opportunity for others to wel- come us to their homes. We all gave and all received. In Lesson Eight, Judy Fletcher discusses the hospi- tality seen in the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Judy mentions that the Samaritan seems taken aback by Jesus' offering her living water. The woman thought of living water as coming from a river or a lake— water that flows, not water from a well. For use with Lesson Eight of the 2015–2016 PW/Horizons Bible study, Come to the Waters by Judy Record Fletcher B i b l e s t u d y r e s o u r c e Joyously Giving and Receiving Hospitality BY IRENE PAK