Drive-By Baskets of Christmas Cheer

By Teri Ditslear

The gift of hospitality is a reciprocal relationship powered by the partnership of the amipotent God and God’s people.

God cannot do very much, if anything, by God’s self. It is weird to say this out loud. We have been told from childhood that God can do anything, anywhere, at any time. In other words, God is omnipotent. Good Christians always agree with the outcomes of this omnipotent God. If we do not agree with the outcomes then it is simply explained that we cannot understand God’s plans, we just must wait and see what glorious gift we will get through this suffering, turmoil, or death; God’s ways are not our ways. But then again, when we listen to the mystics, especially Teresa of Avila, we might understand that Christ (God) has no body, no hands no feet but ours. In other words, God is not “omnipotent.”

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours.

Years before seminary, when I was trying to figure out my spiritual gifts and feeling as if I had none to offer the world or the church, my pastor acknowledged my innate gift of hospitality. Finally, someone could explain my gift of hospitality, as a spiritual gift and grant it and me some sort of significance. Back in the day, I suffered from very low self-esteem.

During the past several decades hospitality has become one of my treasured resources for understanding our purpose in creation as co-creators with God. Hospitality is a reciprocal, relational, and powerful tool used to uncover the Gospel of the kin-dom of God. In most circles, hospitality is understood as a one-way event. We prepare a meal, throw a party, offer lodging, bake cookies for the office, ask people if they are too hot, or too cold, and generally do something for others that will make them feel welcome. But this is not a thorough definition of hospitality.

Just a couple of years out of seminary a friend of mine asked me if I would be a speaker at her church council’s leader retreat; the topic was stewardship. It is not that I was proficient at church stewardship, it was more that I lived 20 miles away which made me an “expert.” Maybe they would hear the message of generosity from an outsider versus the resident pastor. Perhaps.

During the “getting to know you” session, I asked the leaders what they, the church, were known for in the community. They regaled stories of their annual basket giveaway to those in need at Christmas time. Each holiday basket contained a turkey, all the trimmings, plus gift cards and other goodies. Names would be given by the local trustees’ office or by word of mouth. They used to deliver the baskets to each home, but they got scared of the neighborhoods, so they just started inviting them to the church for pick up.

“Oh, do you invite them in for a breakfast, or meal so you can get to know them?” I asked. No, they said that they came up with a very organized car line-up and they would just give them their basket through the open car window, and they would drive away. The church leaders were very proud of their organization and proficiency. Did I mention their heritage was German, known for their proficiency? With this kind of organization and administration, they could fill over one hundred cars in less than an hour. I had the hard task of telling them that they were not hospitable because hospitality is not a physical gift. It is a relationship. It is listening. It is amipotence. It is love.

The word amipotence, coined by Thomas J. Oord, is an adjective that describes God’s power, all-loving power. A movement that is co-created, reciprocal in nature, for the reconciliation between God and creatures. This all-powerful love is also known as the un-controlling love which undermines hospitality, grace, forgiveness, and the general well-being of all, God included. Because we affect God and God affects us, true hospitality is generated by amipotence.

Hospitality is another word for the give-and-take of reciprocity. The giver must be open to fully accept the receiver. Any barriers to acceptance destroy the potentiality of right relationship. Conversely, the receiver must be open to the giver. Each must share vulnerability and trust. Both parties must be able to listen, not judge, and just let the amipotence of God reconcile each party to the other.

The drive-by Christmas Basket giveaway was probably better understood as “outreach.” This type of ministry is antiquated in some ways. The amipotent God requires and insists on reciprocal mutuality. We simply cannot do something for the sake of our ego. “Look! We’re good Christians because we are doing something for someone.” Love must be involved.

The receivers were probably satisfied and grateful that they got a generous basket of holiday goodies. The givers probably felt that they were doing the Christian thing and went home feeling good about their efforts. One must wonder if this action rang hollow. Was this event hospitable in the real sense? This church missed an opportunity for years to engage in this specific outreach as a Christian mission. It was not a ministry of reconciliation. It was not a hospitality ministry. And I would say this activity was not even evangelical in the purest of the sense of the word. Sharing the Good News of Christ is not a superficial act but a deep-abiding love that cares for the well-being of all people.

What would it look like if we replaced outreach ministries with ministries of amipotent hospitality? When we understand hospitality as a reciprocal relationship of mutual love, it becomes a true value congruent with the Gospel of Jesus. It seems that the superficial use of the term hospitality has been delegated to frivolous activities designed to temporarily help us forget reality. The hospitality team, in many faith communities, means well and brings to light the potentiality of friendship and care, but often they stop short of meaningful engagement.

The miracle of hospitality, welcoming the stranger, giving help to the poor, and sharing our resources, comes from the power of amipotent God, who has no hands, body feet, voice, or ears, but ours. It is not enough to give superficially. We must be willing to turn the Maslov hierarchy of needs pyramid upside down. The first act of hospitality might just be helping us and others believe that all are inherently God-breathed and worthy of amipotent love. In other words, instead of self-actualization being the highest achievement, the amipotent God, in partnership with humans lets us be who we are and celebrates who we are without judgment. To be self-actualized, we must understand our partnership with God.

If our own identity was wrapped up in our awareness of the reciprocal hospitality of God, we would be more apt to understand and love our neighbor. Simply put, the commandment to love God, and our neighbors as ourselves, would simply be the definition of the reciprocal hospitality of the amipotent God. There would be no more giving to the poor as an ego boost, no more sharing of wealth just to receive the tax break, and no more drive-through Christmas baskets of Christmas cheer for the needy.

Bio: Teri Ditslear is the founding pastor of Roots of Life Community, ELCA. Earning her MDiv at LSTC, Teri is now a doctoral candidate at Northwind Seminary for Open and Relational Theology. Her dissertation is called, “The Future of Church using an Open and Relational Dialogue.” She is a Spiritual Director, an Eco-Theologian, and a dabbler in the arts.

OORD’S DRABBLE* RESPONSE

Teri Ditslear’s story of hospitality powerfully illustrates the reciprocal relationship we share with an amipotent God. Hospitality means serving as God’s metaphorical hands and feet by helping others. The Christmas basket giveaway story that Teri mentions is a tangible expression of this love. Through hospitality—welcoming strangers, aiding the poor, and sharing resources—we embody God’s compassion. This act of giving not only blesses those in need but also deepens our connection with the divine. By extending love and generosity, we reflect God’s amipotence, becoming instruments of grace in the world, demonstrating that true hospitality is a reciprocal gift.

For more on Oord’s view on imitating God by helping others, see this article.

* A drabble is an essay exactly 100 words in length.