Hospitality as a Spiritual Practice

It's interesting to look at hospitality as a "spiritual practice" because we don't always think of our personal conversations with Christ as related. In fact, we all want to have a relationship with Him, and to do that, He teaches us that when we welcome the "least" among us, we welcome Him. But it can be awkward and uncomfortable for us to venture into the unknown in greeting the stranger. We don't know what will happen in their response. Benedictine rule shows us how important it is for us to be open to those moments of real growth.

It's a very powerful comment the authors make, when they point out that we "become less by what we omit doing." How often have any of us, in our daily routines, failed to extend a helping hand, or aid a stranger, because we see no need to get involved, or do something that might delay our time table for the day? And besides, no one is actually getting hurt by it. How could we even know, if we pass them by?

My Pastor pointed out an excellent practice that some folks take on, and that is to refer to people by name whenever possible, at the grocery store (they have a name plate on their uniform!); in a restaurant, when the waiters usually introduce themselves to you; over the telephone, when you've been holding for a service assistant, and they also introduce themselves at the beginning of the conversation. So often, in our frustration over delays, we even fail to be civil to those individuals. How much extra time out of our lives would it take for that? I'd like to think that those might actually be moments of grace that we pass up.

One of my younger sisters lives by that tenet. She calls it living intentionally, so that there are no passive actions, but conscious moments that we do not lose in the flurry of our lives. For those of us who are always in a hurry, we really do need to practice it, because it doesn't come naturally any more. Some of us have long since forgotten that we, too, were once among the nameless faces greeting strangers for a living.

That kind of due diligence will require more prayer, I think, and a steady focus on that intention several times a day. Dare we try? We could all use the extra grace.

Blessings to all of you,

Nancy Biehler