Three Cups of Tea

There is a Pakistani proverb that says, the first cup of tea is shared between strangers, over the second cup of tea people become friends, and the third cup makes you family. I was first exposed to this proverb in the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson as he detailed his encounter with the Taliban after a failed hike up the mountain K2  in 1993. Motenson had stumbled across a village in Central Asia and was warmly welcomed, fed, and cared for. As Mortenson recovered, he noticed how the girls lacked a proper place to be educated and soon declared that he wanted to build a school for the girls in the village. His desire to help was met with the statement that they would need to drink more tea first. It would take time to trust one another, to know one another, to become the kind of family that could help each other. It started as an act of hospitality, but it could only grow with more time around the table together.

The Bible, too, is full of these moments where sharing a meal becomes transformative for the people gathered. One of my favorites is from Luke 24. The resurrection has just taken place, but most of the followers of Jesus are still confused by what has happened. Two of them are walking on the road to another town discussing the recent events, when Jesus somehow starts walking with them. They don’t recognize him, however, and ironically Jesus spends the rest of the journey teaching these disciples about himself. On reaching their destination these disciples extend an invitation of hospitality to their mysterious traveling companion - Jesus incognito. It is only as Jesus breaks the bread at the table to share the meal that they discover Jesus in their midst. Once again a moment of hospitality leads to revealing and depending relationships.  

There is something about breaking bread together - or sharing a cup of tea - that sits deeply in the heart of being human. We all long to be known and to know, to love and be loved and a meal together is one of the fastest ways to that community. As Baptists we are pretty good with the food part of the equation, but one thing I have seen at Highland Hills is that we are also pretty good at the hospitality that welcomes people to the table. I think there are many here that have taken Hebrews 13:2 to heart, remembering to "not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” So keep on welcoming people in, church. Keep breaking bread and sharing tea - the sweeter the better, because we never know who will show up around the table or where they might lead us next.