Short and sweet this week and typing this update has been on my back-burner until today! This week has been “a year”, it seems!

Our assignment for this Friday is chapter 5, “Hospitality Must Resist Fear”. It’s very natural for us to feel comfortable in our own neighborhoods, among our own “people”, even among our own demographics and society status levels. And, admittedly, it’s uncomfortable for me (“us”) to mingle with others “who aren’t like us”, right?

How do we tackle this reluctance? Maybe we take the stance of waiting for the other person to make the first move? See who flinches first, as I’ve said in the title of this post.

I found it somewhat timely that our author quotes Andrew Shepherd, a teacher of theology, as follows:

“Building relationships with the stranger has become increasingly difficult in an age where the dual discourse of the “war on terror” and “the market” hold sway. The influence of these pervasive discourses means Others come to be conceived as threats. The stranger is either to be explicitly feared…..or, is simply another abstract commodity….one to be struggled against.”

pp. 81-82, “Beautiful Resistance” by Jon Tyson

I get it, however. There is evil the world and we cannot, nor should we (in my humble opinion), have blanket trust for everyone and every situation.

But…..what would (and what “did”) … Jesus do?

I’ll leave you to noodle on that until tomorrow.

Ernie Meland is leading tomorrow. I think he’s already read the book five times, so he’s ready for any type of discussion!

Same time as always. Treehouse is open, or hit us up over Zoom!

Peace, my brothers!