AS A NEWLYWED, I was amazed to find out that well-known Adventist author Nancy Van Pelt lived in our new town. She wrote the book Creative Hospitality, among others. When she discovered that I’d met one of her neighbors who was fighting cancer, she invited all of us to her home for a meal. I felt truly honored to be seated at her tastefully set table, savoring her carefully prepared food. What made an even deeper impression on me was her genuine pleasure in sharing her comfortable suburban home, the interest she took in all of us, and how she enjoyed the fellowship, even taking a photo of our group so she could remember us.
I’ve worked with my husband in student literature evangelism over the years. We’ve knocked on the doors of all kinds of homes, and the homes speak about the people who live there. Some breathe opulence, some not so much. Some are trim and neat like their occupants, some not so much. Some are highly personalized with seasonal decorations, nameplates, and placards, while others are sadly neglected. But they are all a place someone calls home.
There’s something special about going to someone’s home. Being invited into anyone’s sanctuary is a unique opportunity for connection.
FOOD FUELS FELLOWSHIP
Have you ever been struck by the fact that food and fellowship often go hand in hand? In Asia it would be unusual, and perhaps impossible, to complete an important business transaction without the parties eating together first. Many times in Western culture a date happens over pizza or ice cream, as eating affords a chance to actually sit back, relax, and connect. Imagine a birthday party without food!
When these two merge—an invitation to a home and sitting down for a shared meal—something powerful happens. Perhaps this explains why Romans 12:13 plainly exhorts us to “practice hospitality” (NIV).
OPEN THE DOOR
In Bible times, hospitality was truly needed and became inherent in the culture. In an article entitled “Hospitality in the Hebrew Bible,” Peter Altmann explains: “People away from home need protection, shelter, and food. They are at the mercy of the locals. In response, the Hebrew Bible makes a central value of hospitable care for such outsiders—whether travelers, refugees (those forced to relocate), and even neighbors (who are foreigners to the host’s residence).”1 Jesus Himself often needed to rely on the generosity of others as an itinerant preacher.
One day we find Jesus in the fertile, spring-fed oasis of Jericho, the “City of Palms,” flocked by crowds on their way to the Passover in Jerusalem. Our binoculars focus on a small, fast-moving figure, determinedly running ahead of the crowd and climbing a fig tree, where he sits and waits.
As a tax collector, this man has low popularity. People despise citizens like Zacchaeus, not only for being dishonest but because they see them as traitors, working for the hated Romans. Furthermore, who would think that a tax collector could ever change?
But things are not always as they seem. Aching inside, this wealthy, seemingly in-need-of-nothing man took note when he heard that one of Jesus’ disciples was also a tax collector. A flame of hope for a better life was lit in his heart. If only I could see Jesus myself, he thinks. But why would the great Jewish teacher take time to talk to someone like me?
There he is, in the fig tree waiting, when astonishingly, the swirling crowd stops beneath him and Jesus looks straight at him, saying those famous words: “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5).
Excitement bubbles up inside him as he scurries down the tree. The crowd makes space for him now. What else can they do? They start moving in the direction of Zacchaeus’ house. But wait—these people know him, and he knows he has cheated them. Zacchaeus seizes this moment of truth and bravely declares to everyone that he will give half of what he owns to the poor and return fourfold what he has taken unjustly. Now the crowd is in shock.
A PERSONAL VISIT
Jesus comes into Zacchaeus’ home, his sanctuary. They share a meal, undisturbed by the restless crowd. Ellen White says, “Not only was Zacchaeus himself blessed, but all his household with him. Christ went to his home to give him lessons of truth, and to instruct his household in the things of the kingdom. They had been shut out from the synagogues by the contempt of rabbis and worshipers; but now, the most favored household in all Jericho, they gathered in their own home about the divine Teacher, and heard for themselves the words of life.”2
This was a personal visit. Jesus didn’t send someone else to teach Zacchaeus but showed up Himself. When He came to save our planet, He did so in person. We all know that when we really want to show someone we care, there’s nothing like visiting in person. FaceTime is helpful, but technology is not the same as face-to-face contact.
Eye contact is a vital social cue that tells us someone is interested and listening. This cue “can often be missing in digital communication. While you can see the faces of your colleagues onscreen, they are looking at your face on their screen, and not into the camera. Direct eye contact is impossible via current digital hardware.”3 After people had to rely on digital communication during the pandemic, in-person contact is more important than ever.
Social scientists tell us that physical proximity fuels relationships. “The closer you live to another person, the more likely you are to be friends with them despite the growing use and impact of social media.”4 Also, people campaigning for political parties or candidates go house to house. Why? It works. “Personal influence is a power. The more direct our labor for our fellow men, the greater good will be accomplished. . . . You must come close to those for whom you labor, that they may not only hear your voice, but shake your hand, learn your principles, and realize your sympathy.”5
INVITING JESUS IN
Zacchaeus was overjoyed (Luke 19:6). He couldn’t wait for Jesus to come in and be with him. He invited Jesus all the way in, offered Him food, ate with Him, and listened to Him. They had a relationship now. Jesus came not only into his house, his sanctuary, but into his mind and soul. “It is when Christ is received as a personal Savior that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple.”6
Just like the Shekinah glory filled the wilderness tabernacle (Exodus 40:34), God’s glory filled Zacchaeus to overflowing that day. And Zacchaeus followed through on his promise to give back what was stolen. The “very first response of Zacchaeus to the love of Christ was in manifesting compassion toward the poor and suffering.”7
Jesus can’t wait to come in and eat with us, Laodiceans as we are, so He stands at our door and knocks (Revelation 3:20). The One who keeps the universe going wants to sit and talk to us at our home. Even so, sometimes when I hear that knock, I say, “My house is too messy. Don’t come in now,” or “I’m too busy.” But I realize that like Zacchaeus, I need what Jesus has, so I want to simply say, “Come in, Jesus. I need You.”
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1 https://www.bibleodyssey.org/people/related-articles/hospitality-in-the-hebrew-bible/
2 The Desire of Ages, p. 556.
3 https://theconversation.com/why-facetime-cant-replace-face-to-face-time-during-social-distanc-ing-136206
4 https://science.rpi.edu/itws/news/social-media-study-shows-proximity-strongest-predictor-friendship
5 Ellen White, Evangelism, p. 439.
6 Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, p. 556.
7 Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, p. 555.
