Tuesday 12 February 2008

Hospitality starts with a clean kitchen.

I'll leave sharper and more hospitable minds than mine to think about the theological dimensions of hospitality, but for mine, hospitality and indeed sanity itself starts with a clean and ordered kitchen.

If you need to clear the path to the sink to get to scare off the cockroaches to lift the dirty dishes out of the sink to make space for turning on the tap to get the glass of cold water which is the bare minimum of hospitality*, then life just starts to get difficult.

Well, you may not be bothered by mess when you visit my house, which is very nice of you. But if I have you 'round for a meal (and the New Testament closely links hospitality and food), then beginning with a clean kitchen just makes life easier before, during and after. And we get to talk.

Anyway, you can always tell if life is a bit stressful because I clean the kitchen.

*"And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward." (Mt 10:42)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

"Hospitality starts with a clean kitchen".

So true. I think I need to embroider some tea towels with that as a reminder.