Beer and Luke 4

A while ago, I came back from work and parked outside of our neighbors house and walked up to say hi to them as they were on the porch. I got into a discussion with Rudy and Carlos--about my job, about God, about the Bible, and it was really cool. Just a cool Autumn night with two neighbors, in the "hood." Carlos talked with me about Luke 4, where Jesus preaches up a storm--"The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the POOR!" We shared back and forth, talking about how foolish it was to disbelieve in the existence of God when his handiwork is all around us!
As we talked, Rudy got out a beer and gave one to Carlos, but didn't give one to me. I realized that he probably thought I didn't drink (and that's partially true--I don't really like the taste or expense of alcohol, but I have no moral qualms about drinking responsibly), so I asked him for one too. He visibly brightened and handed me one, and offered me another one when I finished it (which I didn't take). In sharing this story, I'm reminded of a comment my internship director made about incarnational living. He shared that something as simple as letting people into your house with shoes on can be a way of not forcing your own cultural expectations on others (that is, if you are Asian-American and used to leaving your shoes at the door before walking into the house). So go ahead and have a beer with your neighbors--it can be alot of fun.