Assignment task:
Write an essay reflecting on your experience with this practice. The only grading criteria for this assignment will be whether or not you were on topic (i.e. grammar and formatting will not be graded). Here are a few prompts that might help shape your reflections:
1. What assumptions do you immediately make about those who look, behave or believe differently? How do these assumptions prohibit you from receiving who they are and what they have to offer?
2. Henri Nouwen describes hospitality as the "space created for people to be fully themselves." What factors contribute to you bringing your whole self to a situation? In what ways does your behavior or posture encourage or discourage the ability of others to bring their whole selves?
3. In what environments do you find it difficult to remain curious? What might this say about how you understand yourself and the world around you?
4. The witness of scripture points to a God who often shows up through "strangers" or "outsiders." How would your interactions with "strangers" and "outsiders" be different if you anticipated that God might be working through and in them?
5. Most people would rather be the host instead of the guest. In what ways might you receive the hospitality of others on their terms and their turf?
6. Many of us prefer to be the host because it puts us in control. In the same way, we would prefer to not be the guest because it places the control in the hands of others. As you've explored how to embrace a more hospitable posture towards others, what are you learning about your need to control?
7. Having reflected upon the posture of hospitality over the last seven weeks, what did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about your context? How did you experience God?
8. Keep in mind that this reflection essay is for your benefit. If you struggled to engage this practice, that's okay. Reflect on why that was the case. What might you learn through that struggle?