HO S P I TAL I T Y
hospitality might not be the first charac-
teristic one thinks of when thinking of
the life of Jesus, he teaches us how to ac-
cept the other into our lives.
Jesus was available to the crowds, to
individuals, to sinners, and even to the
Pharisees. His time of public ministry
was certainly very public. The Gospels
are filled with stories of his interactions
with large crowds hearing his preaching
or witnessing his miracles. Jesus shared
himself generously with all who were
ready to listen. He poured himself out
in service to the other. When Nathaniel
wanted to know more about Christ, he
was invited to “come and see.” 2
The capacity for such radical availabili-
ty required time to not be available. Many
times we see Christ going away (usually
early in the morning!) to be alone with
his Father. 3 The old axiom “Nemo dat
quod non habet” (no one gives what he
does not have) holds true in our lives as
well. If we want to demonstrate the radi-
cal love of Jesus Christ through our gra-
cious hospitality, we must be ready to re-
turn to the source. St. Teresa of Calcutta
was insistent on this point as well. Per-
haps the greatest saint of “unusually gra-
cious hospitality” would not let her sister
go into the streets of Calcutta to serve the
poorest of the poor until they had spent
an hour before Je-
sus in the Blessed
Sacrament.
Jesus’ invitation
was always radi-
cal. Still, he did
not destroy all
boundaries. What
he shared with the
disciples he did
not always share
with the crowd. 4
The invitation to
the deepest shar-
ing Christ offers
– his very self in the Eucharist – was re-
served only for a select few to whom he
told “Do this in memory of me.” 5 It can
be a challenge as we seek to be hospitable
in our lives to know the proper boundar-
ies. We can remember that Christ teaches
us that there are different levels of rela-
tionships with people in our lives. Our
hospitality, even in order to be classified
as unusually gracious, does not need to
break down all boundaries.
The second key area of hospitality is
to receive the other not just as Christ did
but as if he were Christ. Christian hos-
pitality demands that we keep in mind
the words of Jesus to Saul during his
Damascus Road incident: “Why are you
persecuting me?” 6
Jesus identifies first and foremost with
his persecuted disciples. But we should
understand this in an even broader cate-
gory. St. Paul teaches us that “Christ died
for the ungodly.” 7 Even in our sinfulness,
Christ took on our flesh and offered his
life for our salvation. In his incarnation
and in his Passion, he has united himself
with all of humanity.
Because Jesus has so intimately united
himself to us, we are obliged to see all of
our fellow men and women as united to
Christ in some mysterious way. There-
fore, we cannot turn a blind eye to those
in need or even to those whom he has
placed in our lives. We must be “unusu-
ally gracious” in our hospitality to the
other because Christ has been far beyond
“unusually gracious” to us.
Just as we have benefited in our faith
lives through the
kindness and gen-
erosity of others,
we must be equally
generous to others.
Christ has so con-
structed his Body
(the Church) to
make us interde-
pendent. Hospital-
ity is the first step
in the act of invita-
tion to a relation-
ship with Christ.
This hospitality is
especially urgent in our time. Skepticism
of religious institutions, the Catholic
Church not least of them, is extremely
high. Misconceptions and scandal have
caused many to have a high distrust of
the Church. But we, knowing that this is
truly the Bride of Christ (spotted by our
sins but spotless in Christ), must be pa-
tient in walking with those who need to
see a smile, hear a kind word, or receive
an invitation to friendship before they
are able to receive the deepest invitation
to a life of discipleship to which Christ
calls them.
The third and final key area of Chris-
tian hospitality calls for something great
from us. It requires us to be inconve-
nienced for the other! This means that
our plans, our goals, and our priorities
must be shelved for the good of the other.
A disciple is ready to be detained or de-
layed in the service of the other; the most
important goal of my life is to help those
in my life get to heaven. If this means I am
late for another task, less prepared or or-
ganized, or have less free time, Deo gratias!
Hospitality necessitates getting involved
in the messiness of another’s life and al-
lowing his messiness to impact my life. It
means I am willing to forgo what I want to
walk with you on the way to heaven.
We are in the early stages of this move-
ment of Unleash the Gospel. There have
been great fruits of this movement which
are starting to bud and give me great
hope for the years ahead. We have many
ways to be part of this movement, but no
way is more important than seeing those
in your life as the means by which you
fulfill God’s will and your co-adventurers
on the pilgrim journey to the New Jeru-
salem. Walk with them as Christ did; see
them as if they were Christ; and let them
inconvenience you. Do this and you will
unleash the Gospel!
Fr. Stephen Pullis is the Director of Evangeliza-
tion, Catechesis, and Schools for the Archdiocse
of Detroit.
Unleash the Gospel, “Foundational
Conviction.”
2
Jn. 1:46.
3
Cf. Lk. 6:12; Mk. 14:32-41 among
others
4
Cf. Mt. 13:10-12.
5
Cf. Lk 22:19.
6
Acts 9:4.
7
Rm. 5:6.
1
shms.edu
5