HOSPITALITY There are two kinds of Hospitality. Hospitality shown out of pretense, to get praise and attention from people and hospitality deeply rooted in the word of God, coming from the heart and enduring forever. The first kind of hospitality attracts for a while and fizzles out at the long run while the second one brings blessings and endures forever. In the book of Genesis 18:1-10, Abraham represents the true form of hospitality, not just because he performed an act of Kindness to strangers, but because his entire life was already built on faith in God. In fact, it was his faith that propelled his hospitality. Because Abraham was already a man of faith, it was not difficult for him to practice true hospitality, in other words, he was not pretending about it. That’s what happens when one puts God first in life. Anyone who does not put God first, no matter what he or she does in the name of hospitality tantamount to mere pretense. In fact, let us put it this way; it is impossible to practice true hospitality if your life is not first rooted in the word of God and that is the lesson Jesus tries to portray in the gospel as we read in Luke 10: 38-42 when he visited the two sisters Martha and Mary. Martha was quite hospitable and Jesus uses the occasion to teach a lesson on true hospitality; namely: it is impossible to be hospitable without first being rooted in listening to the word. And although this story has often been used by spiritual writers to prove the superiority of the contemplative over the active or pastoral form of life, the real morale of the story is that we must be careful over how we conduct our affairs publicly in this life. We must not allow our public affairs innocent though they may be in themselves, prevent us from attending primarily to the one affair that really matters, our future life. The next time you are performing a public act (of kindness), please put God first. Start your day with God: say a short morning prayer while dressing, count your beads of prayers while walking on a lone path, listen to gospel music while driving, offer up and annoying moment to God rather than snap at a neighbor, and remember a few moments on one’s knees beside the bed before retiring to rest. These little things complement your day and defines hospitality. Don’t be as they say “too busy with the harvest of the Lord that you forget the Lord of the harvest”
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 08:44:30 +0000
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