Paper Example on the Church: A Living Tradition of Continuity & Memory

Introduction

The origin of the church is in the community that gathered around Jesus during his ministry. The church, being a community of memory, looks back on its history throughout the centuries and finds continuity with people along with its history. The central rights and practices of Christianity, such as the continual worship of God, revealed in the life of Jesus bonds all Christians. Continuity was essential to the early Christians. However, when divisions and heresies threatened the church, the community held tight to its practices and rights, which safeguarded them from chaos. The church community is not based on power. Instead, it is a continuation of the population that Jesus founded. This strong foundation was laid by Jesus that led to the founding of the American Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) denomination. Rev Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816. AME church has actively participated in the advocation of civil and human rights of the African American community through social improvement and political engagement. The AME church community draws its teachings from the aspects of love, grace, and social justice to render hospitality, as illustrated in the Bible.

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This chapter aims to evaluate books that support the view of the research work by outlining what is known and not known about biblical hospitality. The strengths and weaknesses of the previous research will be evaluated to justify the content of the study. The resources contained in this review are the foundation of the ministry project. The discussion will also contrast either various theories, and concepts including love, grace, and social justice.

The practice of biblical hospitality is explained by different theories, cultural assumptions, and different laws. The theology behind practicing biblical hospitality within and outside the Church is contained in the Bible. The review will also show the theological and eschatological origin of the practice. Even though there are surveys and classes about biblical hospitality, and the practice is multidimensional. Some areas require explanations and clarifications. The data in the source used in the review will be written in a way that compares and contrasts the pillars of practicing biblical hospitality. The pillars include a neighbor's love, grace, and social justice. The review will use ancient theology books that explain the origin of the Church and its doctrines. Religious and theological journals, publications, and research papers will be used. The search engines such as Logos, Eric, and Ebscohost will be used to obtain data.

Community and Church Setting

The surrounding society influences the direction that the Church takes in the adoption of biblical hospitality practice. The community offers insights and guidelines that the Church may use in ensuring that biblical hospitality is felt and experienced in the hearts and the minds of the congregation. In doing this, three aspects are crucial. They include love, grace, and social justice.

Love

In the Bible, many people offered unusual love and hospitality. The women who provided love and generosity include Mary, who anointed Jesus' feet with costly oil before his death, the widow of Zarephath who accommodated Elijah for three years, Rahab who housed the two spies, Lydia who took care of Paul and the Shunamite woman who accommodated Elisha. Men in the Bible who rendered unusual love and hospitality include the good Samaritan who took care of a man attacked by gangsters, Lot who accommodated the three angels sent by God to spy on the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah before destruction, the Centurion who was deemed worthy to be blessed by Jesus because he (the Centurion) built them a synagogue, and finally Cornelius, a devout man who feared God together with his household and gave generously to the poor.

It is important to note that in the Bible, many Gentiles showed their love to others by being hospitable. They were called the worthy Gentiles. The Gentiles offered a triple (3H) hospitality. The triple reception is a model of expressing love and service to God and all men. It constitutes of hospitality to the needy, generosity to neighbors, and hospitality to enemies.

The first form of hospitality stands for love to the needy. In the scriptures, Jesus mentioned several categories of people who need love and hospitality. The group includes all the people who experience poverty in the community. Poverty comes in different forms: the sick, the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, and prison people. In Tyre, a worthy Gentile showed his love and hospitality to strangers; Jesus and his disciples. The Gentile hosted them and gave them food and drink

The second form of the 3H model stands for love and hospitality to neighbors. In the Bible, the Jews and the Gentiles were normally neighbors. The righteous Gentile on this occasion succeeded in loving and being hospitable to Jesus and his disciples, as mentioned above in the first form of hospitality. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, he commanded his followers to love their neighbors as they were themselves, which was clearly illustrated by the worthy Gentile.

The final form of the 3H model stands for love and hospitality to one's enemies. The righteous Gentile was successful in loving the Jews who were normally their rivals. For instance, the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well refused to give a drink of water to Jesus because the Samaritans and the Jews were rivals and did not always associate with one another. This particular Gentile showed love to his enemies as was commanded by Jesus in his teachings on "the sermon on the Mount," which states, "love your enemies, be good to them and be ready to go with them for two miles if they ask for one mile."

At a physical level, hospitality gives people some sense of comfort, security, and refreshments. When a person is faced with hostility and challenging situations, the word hospitality brings in some restoration of his Spirit. Hospitality takes place at the least expected time and place, and therefore the word 'love' is used to illustrate hospitality. It shows that the host has extended unusual generosity to the guests. From a religious perspective, the actions of the host are seen to be more than goodness. However, despite the merits of hospitality, it also has its other side. Some people are discriminated against and deemed ass unworthy and unacceptable to be in places and the company that they seek. In return, they also do not welcome visitors. The attempts to practice hospitality is affected by competition and prejudice faced by humans.

New Testament Hospitality explains the nature and the dimension of hospitality in the Bible. The new testament presents hospitality as a sacred bond between the visitors and the host. Although the practice has disappeared in western culture. Hospitality is a universal pillar of the molar standards.

In Jesus' experience with Nicodemus, unbelief goes connected at the hip with not inviting the declaration of the Divine Community. In John 4, the Samaritans accept Jesus and show Him some hospitality by requesting that he remain with them. At that point, Jesus goes on to Galilee. Galileans are additionally talked about as having accepted Him, for they had seen the things Jesus did at the celebration in Jerusalem. In John 5, unbelief is likened with inhospitality (you do not trust Him Whom He (the father) sent, I have come in My Father's name, and you do not accept Me). They cannot believe in him because, as opposed to accepting him and his glory, they care progressively about getting glory and praise from each other. A similar pair of terms is found in John 12 include having confidence in the Son (and faith in the Father and the Son) and relates to getting the Spirit; hence, confidence in the triune God is likened with the reception of Him. In John 13, the connection is between faith in him, and accepting those whom he sends simultaneously accepting Jesus' word that were given to him by the father. Lastly, through all this expressions, human beings began accepting that Jesus was sent by God.

The Prologue likewise advises shows that for John, confidence implies turning into an offspring of God who "has a place with the family and is bound for a rich legacy with different individuals from the family." Being God's youngsters as indicated by John is not, at this point, related to being relatives of Abraham, for aside from the acknowledgment of the Word, individuals are not God's youngsters, even though the Word makes them and even though they are Jews. When people talk about "accepting" they are likewise underlining the way turning out to be individuals from God's family is the endowment of God, which he provides for the individuals who react to his Son (Jesus). Also, entrance into the eminent family is not accomplished by human exertion; it is consistently the endowment of God.

The thought of rejection of the Word is additionally stressed in other hospitality terms for love (the darkness did not fathom Him; the world was made through Him, and the world did not have any acquaintance with Him). Faith and knowledge are additionally utilized together (Christians have accepted and have come to realize that Jesus is the Holy One of God), for to accept in Jesus and to know Him is very much the same thing. In John 8, the discussion about who is the genuine "offspring of Abraham" and "who is the offspring of the demon" is by and by communicated regarding the information on the actual personality of Jesus and confidence. It is stated that "except if you accept that I am He, you will bite the dust in your transgressions, when you lift the Son of Man, at that point, you will realize that I am He". Conviction is firmly associated with the information that the God sent Jesus to apply on the planet. Jesus said "however you do not trust Me, accept the works so that you may know and comprehend that the Father is in Me, and I in the father". The narrative of Jesus mending the visually impaired man uncovers the comprehension of confidence as knowing Jesus and His actual character.

The story of Jesus healing the visually impaired man illustrates the understanding of love and faith as knowing Jesus and His actual character. Here, be that as it may, there is lack of faith those Jews who did not trust in him portrayed as far as the obliviousness of Jesus' actual character. The fundamental sin in John's Gospel is the inability to know and have faith in Jesus. But this information for John is not merely hypothetical, nor does it happen in one single demonstration of observation from which everything else would consequently follow. Instead, it is essential to time what is more, for Jesus to come to save people, and it is essential to perceive and recognize Him again while holding on to a knowing faith or an accepting knowledge. John 3:18-20 talks about non-belief as a refusal to "go to the Light" (he who does not accept has been made a decision about as of now and does not go to the Light). After the recuperating at Bethesda, Jesus says "you do not trust Him Whom He [the Father] sent" and "you are reluctant to come to Me with the goal that you may have life" entwining conviction by and by with gathering ("I have come in My Father's name." Having faith in Jesus is coming to Him, getting hospitable of the One who alone can extinguish yearning and thirst everlastingly). On numerous events, John talks about the individuals who are open to Jesus and his message and whose demeanor is that of faith as far as looking to discover him and coming to him. John additionally talks about an accepting relationship with Jesus regarding adoring. With the Jews if God is the Father, people should cheri...