Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

• Isaiah 58:7-8

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

• 1 Peter 4:7-9

“‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

• Leviticus 19:33-34

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

• Romans 12:13-21

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

• Luke 14:7-14

No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

• 1 Timothy 5:9-10

An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

• Titus 1:6-9

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.

In her leaving, she said someone would come.  I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived.  While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.

This Week’s Question

Last week, Babs gave a dinner party that led to Tony Painter getting a small job in the winter months to help with the family income, and the church where Willie’s husband preaches has volunteered with monetary donations and workers during the FHAT events (Feeding the Homeless At Tracy).

This week, I had no idea what she was up to, but she was making so much noise, I could not hear myself think.

I climbed the stairs and knocked.

Babs asked, a little winded, “Yes?  Who is it?”

“I am the only other person in the house, Babs.”  I answered.  “I heard so much noise, what is going on?”

Babs huffed, “You still have not identified yourself.”

I replied, “Tis I, your humble landlord, Harold Dykstra.  Are you ready to receive?”

Babs opened the door with a smile, giggling, “I was just moving furniture around.  How does it look?”

What was directly in front of me was a large cross that she had mounted on the wall facing the door.  To either side, there were tall bookshelves, one with Bibles and commentaries and the other with Bible studies, Christian fiction, and some of the classics.  On one side of the room were her overstuffed chairs and loveseat.  On the opposite side was her kitchen table and chairs in front of the kitchenette that Morrie had installed.

I nodded, “It looks very nice, but where did you get the cross and what is your reasoning for this arrangement?”

Babs scrunched her nose.  “I have tried and tried to get that man who lives downstairs to be more social, more hospitable.  He won’t even let me paint the apartment.  So, if he won’t be hospitable, maybe I can invite people to my apartment.  I could start a little Bible study.  Who knows?!  I might even meet a man who will sweep me off my feet and carry me away.”

I was thinking, ‘Over my dead body,’ but I withheld that comment.  I asked, “But we had such a nice dinner party last week and you accomplished a lot.”

Babs scrunched her nose, “But that old fuddy-duddy downstairs likes his solitude.  I want to meet more people.  If I can fix things up, then I can have a dinner party on one side or a nice afternoon tea on the other side.  And the focal point that everyone sees when they come in is the cross.  I found it at an antique shop.”

I nodded, “It is impressive and eye-catching.  Do you want to try out your afternoon tea setup with a little Bible study?”

She giggled, ‘Sure, but I do not have the tea or biscuits ready.  I have been too busy moving furniture.”

We sat down, and I asked, “What should we study?”

Babs smiled, “I already have the Scriptures picked out.  Turn to Isaiah 58:7-8.”

I snickered, “This is kind of like where Jesus turns the story of the sheep and the goats.  The sheep are known by the shepherd because they feed the poor and clothe them.  The righteous lead the way and God’s glory is visible.  So, you have both feeding and clothing here.”

Babs smiled, “And when you add 1 Peter 4:7-9, you have ‘showing hospitality.’  And it says not to grumble, Harold.  I heard you grumble a bit last week.”

I put up my hands in surrender.  “We were fighting the deadline on the snirtjebraten.  I was not grumbling about having guests.  I just wanted all the food to be ready at the same time.”

Babs giggled, “Nice try.  But then in Leviticus 19:33-34, God’s law says that we should be kind to the foreigner living within our midst.  That does not mean worshipping the foreigner’s gods, but we should not take advantage of the foreigners.”

I nodded, “And looking at the Middle East these days, I think Israel would be okay with having the foreigners in their midst if it were not for the terrorism part of it.  There are many foreigners that live their peacefully, but in the early days, I do not know if they were widely accepted.”

Babs added, “Then, Romans 12:13-21 is concluded by defeating evil with good.  And those verses give a lot of practical ways we can show God’s love.  And showing hospitality is part of that.”

I asked, “And you mentioned the Isaiah prophecy that is close to what Jesus says in the parable of the sheep and the goats, but what else did Jesus say about hospitality?”

Babs said, “Well, in Luke 14, he starts off by talking about not taking a preferred seat at the table.  What is that about?”

I snickered, “I have heard it said that the military still has that kind of thing, at least sometimes.  At formal dinner parties, there is assigned seating.  On the commander’s right hand is the wife of the honored guest.  The honored guest sits next to the commander’s wife at the far end of the table.  Then, they sit boy-girl around the table with the lowest ranking person in the middle of the table, farthest from either the commander or his wife.  And even in the military they say to go to the middle of the table to find your name.  Then you are honored when your name is closer to the head of the table.  They picked up that tradition from the words of Jesus.  Of course, if you are the youngest lieutenant, you’ll find your name where you looked first.  But there is no loss of honor by finding your place.”

Babs smiled, “But then, Jesus says that when we throw the party, we should not invite the rich.  We should invite the poor and the crippled.  I guess last week we did not do too badly there.  The Painters and the ver Waarloosds were families that could not provide influence, and the Whitefield’s were family.”

I nodded, “I think you did a fine job last week.”

Babs added, “Well, Paul told Timothy to not put a widow on the widow list until they were 60.  I’m not a widow.  I have never been married.  But I’m not 60 either.  So, I have to show hospitality to those who might be on that widow list.”

I sighed, “And I love this little corner of the room for an intimate Bible study, but I will not have you inviting any old Tom, Dick, or Harry up here.  The widows are just fine.”

Babs scrunched her nose.  “Harold, all I had left were qualifications for a church leader that Paul gave Titus.  I do not think any of them were jealousy.”

I nodded, “Guilty as charged.  I like having you around, Babs.”

Babs said, “There is only one way to make it permanent.”

I took her hand and I nodded.  “Not yet, Babs, but may I promise you that it will be soon?  I have been guilty of being selfish.  I was hanging onto old memories.  I was holding onto a vow that was nullified at my wife’s death.  I realize that I was thinking only of myself.  When that kind of thing starts, upon the spouse’s death, you think of how you two had become one flesh.  Part of you is missing.  But when you pour a soothing balm on that sore spot that had been your spouse for a long time, you start focusing on the balm rather than the fact that life is still going on.  And you have been part of that life for several months now.  And my children think over two years since they think you are the young Babs.  I want you to have those widows over here.  Pick the ones that can walk up a flight of stairs.  Either that or I will come up here to read a book while you have the Bible study in the living room downstairs.  But, I promise you that when the weather is just right and the moon is in the right spot…”

Babs threw up her hands, “This is never going to happen.  The weather is never predictable in Tracy, and you often go to bed just as the sun goes down.”

I sighed, “I also promise that I will get the rings ready and have them in my pocket, just like I have my cellphone with me.”

Babs leaned in and we kissed for a long time.  She giggled, “I am in this with you for the long haul, fella.  I’ll put up with the timetable of a person waiting for a romantic moment when his senses are so dull, he might never find that romantic moment.  My biological clock is ticking, you know!”

I asked, “I thought that was when the lady wanted to start making babies.”

Babs groaned, “No, silly, the other end of that biological clock when you go through menopause.  Some ladies lose their libido in the process.”

I said, “That changes things.  I don’t want to go through a marriage ceremony.  Then take the necessary pills so I can perform.  And then get to the matrimonial bed to find the bride asleep.  I am going to have to rethink this thing.”

Credits

All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife.  We would talk about anything and everything.  And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.

My wife loved having people over for dinner.  That stopped when her health began to fail.  And there was a lot less joy in the house as a result.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.