The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him.  When he saw then, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.  He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant.  Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.  Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.”  And they said, “Do as you said.”

– Genesis 18:1-5

Beloved of God,

This story from Genesis shows Abraham to be the consummate host of three unexpected guests who show up of the blue.  Abraham offers them food and refreshment, and when they give him the green light, he sends his servants scurrying to make it so.  Only later is it revealed that these unexpected guests bring crucial news about the promise Abraham and Sarah had received from God— that they would be the progenitors of a whole new people.  These guests, later tradition suggests, are none other than the Holy Three.

We all have stories of hospitality—received or given—and how they have changed us.  As I write, I’ve just returned with Chris from our 20th anniversary get-away to an Italian Villa bed and breakfast (in Tacoma of all places!), where we experienced the marvelous hospitality of our hosts Toni and Martin.  While visiting with other guests during a sumptuous breakfast the morning of our anniversary, we received a recommendation for a small, intimate restaurant where we could celebrate in style.  We took the recommendation and ran with it and, boy, are we glad we did, for it added a wonderfully rich layer to our celebration and to our appreciation of excellent hospitality.[1]

Twenty-two years ago this month, while driving back from the Midwest after dropping my son Nathan off at college, I was the recipient of another unforgettable experience of hospitality—one totally unexpected.  After putting my “pedal to the metal” on a marathon leg of driving with the goal of getting home to Portland as soon as possible, I arrived at Coeur de Alene, Idaho, thoroughly tuckered out.  Unable to keep my eyes open any longer, but not wanting to shell out for motel room, I pulled off I-90 at a rest stop just east of town.  Finding a payphone (no cell phone back then!) I made a call to my still-newish girlfriend Chris Hauger.  All I got was her voicemail.  So I let her know that was taking a break at a rest stop outside of Coeur de Alene, too tired to drive any further.

Earlier that summer, Chris had occasion to introduce me to dear family friends Jeanne and John.  Chris had met Jeanne and her children in Ethiopia when she was a girl and their families had stayed in close touch ever since.  Jeanne and John, it turns out, lived in Coeur de Alene, and when Chris received my phone message she —unbeknownst to me—went into high gear.  While I was taping newspapers over the windows of my van and preparing to lie down for a few hours, Chris was reaching out to Jeanne and John by phone.  She told John how concerned she was for me; that I was at a rest stop somewhere outside of Coeur de Alene; that I needed a safe place to get some rest before continuing on.  John assured Chris: “There is only one rest stop it could be and I know just where it is.”  Before they hung up, they’d hatched a plan that John would search me out using Chris’ description of my van, and offer me lodging at their home for the night.

As I lay in the back of my Dodge Caravan behind papered windows—just on the edge of sleep—with nasty visions whirling about in my exhausted brain of what might happen if somebody tried to break into my van while I slept, I was startled by a loud knocking on my front window.  Bolting up quickly as adrenaline flowed, I prepared myself for whatever I might encounter on the other side of that window.  Finally, opening my door cautiously, I looked out and there was a big burly man with a mischievous smile on his face.   Holding out a phone, he said, “IT’S FOR YOU.”

It was John.  And the voice of the other end of the phone?  It belonged to Chris.  “John and Jeanne are ready to put you up for the night, Erik.  Is that alright?”  Alright?!  YES—AND THEN SOME!  So I pulled the papers from my windows, followed John to their house in town, and was welcomed into the safety and comfort of their home for the first time, treated like a long lost son.  The next morning, after a hardy breakfast, I took my leave, deeply appreciative of Jeanne and John’s hospitality and mindful once more of the way grace can show itself in our lives when we least expect it.

From that time on, John and Jeanne’s home has been a regular way-station for us as we’ve journeyed—first as a couple and then with our children—to Kindem Family Reunions in Whitefish, Montana.  This year, on our way back from Whitefish at the end of July, we’ll be stopping in Coeur de Alene once more.  This time so we can attend Jeanne’s memorial service; where sadness at her passing will be mingled with gratitude for the deep friendship and hospitality which has been such an incalculable gift through the years.

Wherever your summer takes you, I pray for experiences of hospitality—received and given; for sacred encounters in which grace becomes known.

[1] The restaurant, in case you’re interested, was Over the Moon Café, located in Tacoma’s Opera Alley.