Mission as Hospitality
When the Holy Spirit authorises the proclamation of the Gospel in Europe, the first person to hear the preaching of Paul in the open space by the river is Lydia (Acts 16:14). In thanksgiving for receiving the word and the baptism which follows, she invites the missionaries to come and stay at her home. As she is a Gentile and they are Jews, the hospitality that she offers them takes them out of their comfort zone. Preaching by the river is not the same as crossing an unknown threshold, as entering a house with all the difficulties about sharing food which from one side is seen as unclean.
Source: Thinkingfaith
