Jesus summoned the twelve and began to send them out two by two. .all . .take nothing for the journey but a walking stick. . . .’Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.’” And Jesus further instructed them to shake the dust from their feet in testimony against any who didn’t welcome them. We are an overly protective and cautious culture, a bit suspicious of the individual who just rang the doorbell, the person cutting across our property, the stranger walking through our neighborhood. Jesus counters our desire for security—safe-keeping—with his instructions to his disciples. No less than those sent out with only a walking stick, we are called forward each day to offer and receive ‘hospitality’ within our thoughts, words and actions. Henri Nouwen, a priest and author of numerous books on Catholic spirituality, offers this bit of advice. “Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines.” Henri Nouwen goes to further detail true Christian hospitality, invoking a presence of listening to the other. Hearing their words, their story, which is part and partial of such hospitality. As he explains, “To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept. Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you.”
Having recently received the unique hospitality of the Irish (and not just in pubs), such ‘grace’ can be traced to the ancient practice of Brehan Law during the Celtic times, obligating households to offer some form of hospitality to travelers. Thus, two common Celtic greetings persist in their everyday parlance: “Cead mile failte” is Gaelic for ‘a hundred thousand welcomes;’ and “Dia duit,” which translates, ‘may God be with you.’ An amusing anecdote by the author C.E. Murphy illustrates such. In Ireland, you go to someone's house, and she asks you if you want a cup of tea. You say no, thank you, you're really just fine. She asks if you're sure. You say of course you're sure, really, you don't need a thing. Except they pronounce it ting. You don't need a ting. Well, she says then, I was going to get myself some anyway, so it would be no trouble. Ah, you say, well, if you were going to get yourself some, I wouldn't mind a spot of tea, at that, so long as it's no trouble and I can give you a hand in the kitchen. Then you go through the whole thing all over again until you both end up in the kitchen drinking tea and chatting. In America, someone asks you if you want a cup of tea, you say no, and then you don't get any damned tea. . . .I liked the Irish way better.” God Bless, Fr. Tim
FYI: “Hospitality is the practice of God's welcome by reaching across the difference to participate in God's actions bringing justice and healing to our world in crisis.” (Letty M. Russell)