God Makes Room for Us All

Lenten Devotion Series: Week 7

The next day he took out two denarii, and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.”

The Good Samaritan, Luke 10:35

Our current missionary assignment with Global Ministries puts us in contact with missionaries serving in many different places. An annual job for us is to help gather and organize the missionary stories that appear in the Prayer Guide, a shared resource with United Women in Faith, that features UMC missionaries. We enjoyed reading the stories from missionaries on hospitality, the theme for the 2027 Prayer Guide. For them, hospitality can range from a simple greeting of “hola,” offered to Rhealyn Calacsan in Ecuador, to the Palestinians’ embodiment of Matthew 5:40: “If anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well,” noted by Janet Lahr Lewis, a retired missionary who served in Palestine and Israel.

Church and Community Worker Katie Peterson affirmed that God always prepares a welcoming for people in mission. Across West Angola, Barbados, Honduras, and beyond, hospitality (through a shared meal, a helping hand, or a hug) creates a sense of belonging that enables missionaries to overcome loneliness and fear, break down prejudices, and embark on faithful service. Is this not the same for all immigrants arriving in unfamiliar places?

According to Pat and Kim Lewis in Mexico, while hospitality is often imagined as having “enough” to give, its deepest expression could be simply showing up for one another and quietly sharing what little is available. Global Mission Fellow (GMF) Cassey Anne Marie Sta. Maria, who works among street children in Cambodia, is surprised when a little girl joyfully presses a pair of hair clips into her hand, saying, “Teacher, I have something for you.” Sometimes what we take for granted becomes a meaningful act of hospitality for someone else. Another little girl is overjoyed when a missionary calls her by her name, Sovann (meaning “gold”) – a recognition she had rarely received before.  

Hospitality has a transformative impact, both individually and collectively. In Phnom Penh, a Patrick Booth witnesses a local friend grow from a sullen, timid individual into a joyful teacher – a change prompted by a community’s welcome. In Rome, Eliad Dias dos Santos gives thanks as a man once struggling with mental health gained confidence through being welcomed; he now works at a restaurant, welcoming others and offering coffee with a smile. In Zimbabwe, GMF Irmiya Samson reflects on the power of collective hospitality after observing villagers offering food, shelter, and land to families displaced by a violent land dispute between two tribes. 

However, hospitality also unsettles us. Gillian Sloan recalls a late-night knock at the door from a stranger who had missed the last train and was asking for a place to stay. Instead of offering a bed, her husband cautiously gave him a ride home – just enough to meet his immediate need. Only later did the haunting realization come: Christ himself may have been standing at that door. “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me.” (Matt 25:40). Hospitality is a holy risk.

 GMF Kimseat Soy writes, “Hospitality is making room for healing, provision, and hope.” In making room for one another, we discover that God has already made room for us.

The Revs. Grace (Eunha)and Jay (Jaehyoung) Choi, originally from South Korea, are Missionaries in Residence at the Atlanta office of Global Ministries. What they describe in this devotion will be published in the “2027 Prayer Guide,” not yet available.