by Rev. Dr, Tim Verhey, October 2025

Hospitality

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as a native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:33-34

At the heart of the Old Testament is Israel’s memory of being “strangers in the land of Egypt.” God set them free from slavery and guided them through the desert to the Promised Land. This fundamentally shaped how they understood God, themselves, and their responsibility to strangers. God is hospitable: God welcomes strangers.

Think of the creation. God made space for God’s creatures. God didn’t need to create the world. God did it from an overwhelming sense of hospitality, a readiness to welcome others into God’s presence. This is the fundamental nature of God and God’s Kingdom. Therefore, it is also the fundamental responsibility and the deep joy of God’s people. We are
imitators of God’s hospitality to us. Though Leviticus is full of laws that seem strange and outdated to us, few are tied as closely to Israel’s experience and identity as the one above. God showed hospitality to them, so they will show it to others.

I am grateful for the welcome I have received here at College Presbyterian Church. In a short time, you have made me, a stranger, feel like I belong. It is evident that your identity is as deeply shaped by the memory and experience of God’s grace as our Israelite ancestors. You have welcomed a stranger into your midst, treated me like a native, and loved me as yourself. What a gift! THANK YOU! I already feel at home here, even though I am still spending a couple days a week in Laurinburg, preparing my house for sale and getting ready to move.

One of the ways human beings have shown hospitality and become friends is through shared meals. When the manse is finished and I get moved in, I look forward to having groups of you over for dinner. I want to get to know you better and also show you the hospitality you have shown me. Meanwhile, I am eager to go out for lunch with you or meet for coffee. Please reach out to me, if you are interested in sharing a meal and getting to know each other better. I am also eager to learn from you about how we can find more ways to show more hospitality to more of our neighbors at the college and in the community.

Thank you again for your hospitality to me! I know it is at the heart of who you are and what you do (I mean, who we are and what we do)—“Faithfully Serving Our Neighbors Through God’s Love.”

Shalom,
Tim