In an episode of 90's quirky comedy, Northern Exposure, Joel the protagonist is gently reminded that though he has gone to many a dinner party in his adopted Alaskan village he has yet to throw a dinner party himself. So Joel does. People politely ask what they can bring and he doles out half the menu. The party is a complete failure. Joel doesn’t understand until one of the locals tells him that though it is polite custom to offer to bring something it is rude to accept.
It’s pretty much the opposite here, in NZ. I remember that after watching that episode I decided to turn down offers to bring something when inviting people to dinner or lunch. It was a disaster – kiwis can’t it seems turn up empty handed and we ended up with fresh bread or bottles of wine that were totally unsuited to the meal but had to be served.
I guess what works in one place, won’t work in another. To get it right we need to know our context. It’s like that when talking about God to people isn’t it? It’s not that the gospel changes, but the words we use, how we talk and even when to say something at all is different when we are talking to theologians, others Christians, seekers or hard core atheists. Paul tells the Colossians in chapter 4 to –
“5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”
As Christians we worry about relativism – the idea that truth and ideas can be different to different people. But I think that this fear has sometimes resulted in us thinking that context is static, that if there is one hope, one faith and one baptism that must mean there is only one way to discuss it. But I think that if the message of faith is the dinner party then we don’t want to ruin it by misunderstanding the customs of the guests.
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