Dining with Strangers

READ: LUKE 22:19; 24:13-36

The mall food courts in Guatemala City are very different than those I visited in the US. When I came back from four years away from my country, one of the first outings we had was to the mall. Mall runs and window-shopping are common practices among most city folk in Guatemala. We especially like doing this on Sunday afternoons. Food courts get packed—to the point that families usually have to split up to find a spot to eat. It’s crazy, and I bet many of you reading this are already cringing at the thought.

The layout of these food courts is pretty interesting. Tables are all touching each other, basically creating twenty-person tables. There is no room to separate them, so—whether you like it or not—you usually eat lunch with strangers.

And that brings us to today’s Bible passage. Shortly after Jesus’s resurrection, He appeared to two of His disciples, walking along the road to Emmaus with them. But Luke 24:16 says, “they were prevented from recognizing him.” Even though Jesus was an apparent stranger to these disciples, they still invited Him over for dinner. Jesus accepted and ate with them. And He broke the bread—just as He had done on the night before He went to the cross! When that happened, the disciples’ “eyes were opened, and they recognized him”—and then He vanished (verse 31).

Is it too bold to say that maybe by having lunch with strangers—even at such a common place as a food court—we might be dining with Jesus, welcoming Him to have lunch with us? Is it even crazier to think that when others are hosts to us we might recognize Jesus in them?

Hospitality is an opportunity to show and remember Jesus’s love and His presence with us. It’s a chance to recognize and proclaim that Jesus came to dwell with us even when we were estranged from Him (Matthew 1:23; John 1:14; Romans 5:8; Colossians 1:21-22). • Andres López

• Can you think of a time you felt welcomed by others? What was that like?

• As Christians, how can we (safely) welcome the stranger among us into our lives?

• How might God be inviting you to reach out to the outcasts in your school, church, neighborhood, etc.? Consider taking a moment to talk to Jesus about this. Additionally, who is a trusted Christian adult—such as a parent, pastor, or youth leader—you can talk to about what practicing hospitality could look like in your life? (Matthew 25:34-40; Hebrews 13:1-3)

Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. Romans 15:7 (CSB)