This book shows you the example of how you can show radically ordinary hospitality to those around you. Throughout this book, Rosaria tells lots of stories in how she has shown hospitality to her neighbourhood. How she lived next to an old guy who had a meth lab in his property and the fallout from when the police raided his place. How she looked after her friend's cat and how it had to be put down while the owner was away. How when their house was robbed they then invited their neighbourhood over for dinner. What it was like having her ageing mother stay with them for an extended period of time, adopting kids from government-run housing because they came from troubled homes etc...
In this book, Rosarie reminded me a little like the almost impossible Proverb 31 woman. She is up at 5:30am reading, praying and writing books before her children get up and then does homeschooling with the kids. She goes for walks, delivering goods to those in needs, sends care packages to those in prison, has people over for dinner and songs, and Saturday evenings she makes communion bread by hand ready for more people to come over on the Lords Day.
Rosarie drops in her own personal history throughout this book, some of which I thought was a little forced. There is an extended bit about her first visit to a gay bar when she was a young teen and how gay bars should not be considered "sanctuaries" (that term coming out from a recent shooting where the news described a gay bar as a sanctuary). There is also a strong argument for complementarianism, which I am not against, I just didn't quite get the connection. Other parts of her story were directly related, in how when she was a college professor doing some research on the weird Christians (and in a same-sex relationship) how this guy Ken Smith would always welcome her back to his place for a meal and to witness them singing the Psalms and general conversation. She knows first hand the strong power and influence hospitality can have over someone.
The examples in this book were impressive and inspiring. It calls for a whole lifestyle change, where you open yourself and your house up for more people. There was a good bit about table fellowship and weather to exclude the Judas or the atheist (hint: its not the atheist) and why that is. It deals with the cost on the family, with children seeing and hearing things or being exposed to risks, how your own budget get affected and the general messiness of having people over.
I finished this book in December and I was encouraged by it. My neighbour's brother had moved in with him around October after coming out of prison. After reading this book, I went across and knocked on his door with a token Christmas present (beer). He never came to the door. He didn't want to talk to me (he had his music up the night before and maybe he thought I was going to complain - another neighbour had already). After school holidays, I think I will try again and knock on his door and invite him over for a coffee.
This book is worth a read. Rosarie is an English professor so there are some good lines in here. Relationships are a big investment, more so than ever in our busy individual lives. This gives you some things to think about how you can show radically ordinary hospitality to those around you.
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