The Jenkins Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam is not only a center for learning, but for warm hospitality, based upon prayer and service. I have the privilege of serving Southern Seminary and Boyce College as the unofficial hospitality intern: I prepare tea, coffee, and snacks for our twice-weekly tea time and oversee the food distribution during our dinner events. While preparing tea may not seem like a glamorous job or one with much recognition, it is a job full of joy and purpose.
Each Tuesday and Thursday, I arrive at the Jenkins Center at 9:00 am. Grace Kim, our administrative assistant, and I sit down to pray. We lift one another up to our heavenly Father and bring our upcoming events also before the Lord. This time of prayer is the foundation of our hospitality at the center.
I open our tea cabinet and inhale deeply— nothing smells quite so good as a cupboard full of tea! Turning my eyes to the contents of the cupboard, I consider the weather and the things people are going through in order to choose the perfect variety of tea. A cold and wet day may be in need of rich black tea with sage. A day in which people are feeling under the weather could call for lemon ginger with cinnamon. A sunshiny day is always a good day for hibiscus mint tea. Once I have decided the flavor, I prepare the tea and the coffee, replenish the cups and mix-ins, and set out biscuits and dates for our guests.
The tea brews and the coffee percolates during chapel, and I return from praising the Lord to serve the people of the Lord. What a joy it is to remember that one guest loves dates and to make sure there are plenty for him when he arrives. What a blessing it is to offer honey in the tea when I know that someone is feeling unwell. What a privilege it is to welcome someone into the center who has never come before. Hospitality comes naturally when you truly love the people that you serve. Christ calls us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. He calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40).
During our events, there is always joy in service. It can be easy to become worried: What if there is not enough food? What if nobody shows up? What if things don’t go as planned? Despite these fears, God has been faithful in teaching me that He is in control of every moment. It is such an honor to place these things in God’s hands through prayer. Before our events, when I feel these worries creeping into my heart, I enter the quiet place and speak to the Lord. I remember what he did with the loaves and fishes for the five thousand in Matthew 14. I remember how he has always provided in the past. I remember his goodness, and am filled with peace. Our Father gives peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7)! When the time comes to serve dinner at an event, I am so encouraged by the smiling faces of our guests. I am so thankful that I can give them good food that will fill their bellies, while our speaker gives them good food that will fill their hearts.
So what is it like to serve through hospitality? It is a gift that I cannot take for granted. What a gift it is to be able to serve the people of God through food and through prayer. What a gift it is to know someone truly and be able to serve him or her well through that knowledge. What a gift it is to serve God’s children alike, whether they are familiar or new. What a gift! Just as our heavenly Father serves his people generously, preparing a table before us in the presence of my enemies, anointing our heads with oil, abundantly filling our cups, searching us out with goodness and mercy, and creating an eternal dwelling place for us in his house (Psalm 23:5-6), so we strive to serve at the Jenkins Center. Thank you for letting us serve you.