Advent 2020: Fasting as
Self-Denial

Activity: Serve

Serving and being served are both gifts - spiritual gifts as well as gifts of grace offered to one another. As guests in a friend’s home, we are honored with the gifts of friendship, of breaking bread, of sharing an elaborate meal, and of enjoying good company together. We witness what it might look like to serve others with a radical kind of hospitality.

Serving, however, includes a significant element of being last -- last to be served, last to get in line, last to eat. It includes other things, too, but some of these are more difficult: self-denial, caring for the needs of others before yourself, watching out for others in their times of vulnerability. Every moment is not like this -- because self care is important, like putting your air mask on first in the case of an airplane emergency or making sure you practice good hygiene every day. However, those moments of service, of putting others’ needs first and yours last -- these moments teach us about hospitality.

Who is in your shared space - your places of hospitality? To whom do you serve? If you’re a parent, this might be your children. It might be your aging parents, your roommates, your spouse, your neighbors, coworkers, or grandchildren. There are plenty of people we randomly interact with, as well, such as those at the store, places of business, and church. How can you serve these with radical hospitality? How can you be last, even for a moment, to share with those who share your space?

Serving someone else is one of the easiest ways to practice hospitality. Yet it might also be one of the hardest, since serving someone else takes self-denial in order to put someone else first. Consider someone in your life: your spouse, a housemate, a family member, a neighbor, a friend, or a coworker. How can you serve them today? Perhaps one of the following:

• Write them a letter of appreciation.

• Do a chore or task for them.

• Brainstorm a few more specific tasks:

Serving someone else is not about getting attention, but about showing love for the other person.

All this week, we have been discussing hope and hospitality. Reflect on this week about these topics. What have you learned?

Of the activities and reflections, which have been easy and enjoyable? Which have been more difficult and challenging?