“I wish I had time to tell you even a few of the tales or one or two of the songs that they heard in that house [the home of Elrond].  All of them, [Gandalf, the dwarves, and Bilbo,] the ponies as well, grew refreshed and strong in a few days there.  Their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers and their hopes.  Their bags were filled with food and provisions light to carry but strong to bring them over the mountain passes.  Their plans were improved with the best advice.  So the time came to midsummer eve, and they were to go on again with the early sun on midsummer morning.”

From The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

 

Don’t you just feel the very essence of hospitality when you read those words?!? 

Story. Music. Refreshment. Clothing mended. Physical and mental and emotional wounds healed. Food for the present and for the future. Wise advice for the journey ahead.

I can hardly imagine a more true picture of hospitality. And yet this paragraph isn’t describing the furniture or décor or architectural style of the home of Elrond, lovely as it may be. That outer shell could look beautiful and still be filled with spite and coldness and neglect. Instead, what warms our senses as readers is the comfort and real help given to the weary traveler.

To be cared for and provided for in a strange place. To have every real need considered and thoughtfully addressed. That is really something.

And that can be our aim when others walk through our door. To cheer and inspire with story and song. To refresh the weary traveler, neighbor, or friend–body and soul.

“Let God use your home, apartment, dorm room, front yard, community gymnasium, or garden for the purpose of making strangers into neighbors and neighbors into family. Because that is the point—building the church and living like a family, the family of God.”

Rosaria Butterfield, The Gospel Comes with a House Key

Is there another book or passage that paints a picture of hospitality that inspires you?