Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Radical Hospitality
Abraham and Sarah, an elderly couple, welcome those who come to their door, persons they don’t know yet, and lavish them with radical hospitality—offering the best of what they have. Upon leaving, one of the visitors announces that upon returning in the next year, a new life—a son—Isaac—will be a new member of the family. Incredible? All of it is!
Those of us who are blessed with the presence of elders in our lives, whether they are family members or friends or sometimes co-workers, know that our “visits” with them are often filled with sage advice. Wisdom comes to us in such calm, unexpected ways. We leave those visits with something new, whether it is a new insight or a new kinship, a deepened relationship.
The story of Mary and Martha’s visit with Jesus is another model of hospitality. Although the story is often portrayed as a contrast between contemplation and activity, I think hospitality includes both. Hospitality is often a welcoming attitude of listening, without having to do something about it. So many times, a visitor is grateful for finding a listening ear. Hospitality also invites us to think about what we hear and what we learn from listening and then acting on our new knowledge.
That’s what I experience in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Our coming together, our gathering with persons we know as friends as well as persons we may not know yet, is the opportunity for change, both personal and communal. What brings us together is a great desire to listen, to experience the Word of God in the Scriptures, in the music, in the gestures of reverence and extending peace, and in the reception of communion. As we prepare to leave this radical act of hospitality, we are sent forth to ACT on what we have heard, what we have learned, and what we have experienced. In what ways do we choose to offer hospitality to others? How do we continue to grow in our “love of neighbor” and our understanding of who our neighbor is?
Radical hospitality asks us to both contemplate and act, to work and to pray. I read this week that this integration of prayer and action might be called “praying with my feet”. I like that! I don’t just walk out of Mass. The real work begins now.