Some years ago, my wife and I landed on the mystical island of Iona. Located off the western coast of Scotland, the small island has an abbey that traces its roots back to the sixth century. The abbey has been rebuilt over the last eighty years, and it now serves as a center for conferences and spiritual retreats.

We arrived on an August afternoon in time for  the evening worship service. Taking our seats in the ancient stone sanctuary, we discovered we were in  the midst of a Christian youth conference. There were people in their teens and early twenties who gathered there from across Europe, and they had planned the vespers.

“We welcome you in the name of Jesus the Christ,” said the youthful leader. She announced the theme of the worship service was hospitality. “But rather than make …