The British Columbia coast can be pretty chilly and cloudy and wet even in the summer, so the sight of a Tim Horton’s restaurant in Vancouver, BC put smiles on all our faces. We parked our six bikes, walked inside, ordered coffee and pastries, and waited for the life-giving warmth the coffee would produce in our bodies.
Yet we’d barely taken our first sip when we saw four guys, all dressed in biker gear, walk across the street into the parking lot, take some brief looks at our bikes, only to enter Tim’s, look around, then walk to our table. Four smiles, and one spoke, “So, you guys belong to those bikes outside? We saw your plates from the States, our bikes are on the other side of the street. Welcome to Canada!
“Can we help you in any way?”
We invited them to join us and we shared coffee. Well, one drank tea, remember, this was Canada. We talked about our bikes, how we’d met some Canadian bikers two years before in Grangeville, Idaho. They gave us some ideas of where to ride, what to avoid. They asked us to ride with them that day, but we were enroute to Whistler, and they all had to show up for work the next day.
Frankly, we’ve ridden in Canada before and found the folks to be exceptionally friendly, but this exceeded our experiences. We talked for days about the great example of hospitality. And about every time I remember this, I also remember a passage that challenges me to the root of my being, “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured” (Hebrews 13:1-3).
For those of us who follow Jesus, who desire to become more like him, active compassion should denote our lives.
We recognize that the reference to mutual love, or action to benefit the other, is part of what Jesus proclaimed as the greatest commandments. One expression of love is to show hospitality to strangers, like the Canadian bikers did for us. I have no clue if they thought we might be angels, but I can confirm none of us are. At times, I wonder if they were, giving us an example of how to behave.
Compassion. Caring for others. Acting. Isn’t that the life of Jesus? When is the last time we expressed hospitality to strangers? Frankly, my introverted personality likes to hide and remain private. But I did reach out to a stranger at church yesterday who was alone. We had a brief conversation, got separated, but ended up sitting across the aisle. I broke through my introversion, only to discover we had graduated from the same college, and one of his profs is a friend of mine. It felt good. I like to feel good.
It’s been a long time since I visited anyone in prison. A long time. I do think of those who are tortured, and sometimes support ministries that work with them. But at an arm’s distance.
Maybe I need to avoid neglecting hospitality.
Kick Starting the Application
How natural is showing hospitality to you? What keeps you from doing more of it? What can encourage you to do more of it?