“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
…amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
The Testaments Old and New encourage hospitality. First, we hear of Abraham, the wandering Aramean, and his wife Sarah who welcomed strangers into their camp and were rewarded with the promise of a son. Although homeless, they were nonetheless fearless in hospitality. Their descendants, wandering from Canaan to Egypt, and then back to Canaan, deported to Babylon and dispersed throughout the world, appreciate the virtue.
Jesus gives a new dimension to hospitality as he takes personally every welcome his disciples receive. Who welcomes you welcomes me! Any friend of yours is a friend of mine! And they will be richly rewarded. As a priest in a secular hospital, I often meet Catholics who have not attended a Mass since they returned from the war zone. If they seem willing to hear it, I assure them, "We still count you among us. As you welcome me, you welcome the Lord.
But the Lord also takes personally every insult his people suffer. We often say, “Don’t take this personally,” when we must disagree, disappoint, or hurt someone else; Jesus will take inhospitality personally.
Luke 10:16 presses the point:
“Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
John 15:22 also pronounces doom on the suspicious, hostile neighbor:
“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me also hates my Father.
And, of course, there is that familiar, “Kick the dust from your shoes in judgement against them.”
These passages both reassure and warn the Christian. We have God’s ringing endorsement and should not hesitate to make ourselves welcome wherever we go, whether as missionaries, visitors, or migrants. Secondly, expect opposition but don’t worry about it. It’s not about you; it’s me they reject.
Today’s reading from Saint Matthew encourages self-confidence. Psychologists have called the process individuation. Every human being must finally recognize their individuality within the group. They should able to say, “I am part of this group, but I am not the group. I know myself within this group. The Lord himself invited me to join, and his Holy Spirit has kept me here.
We take our place in the congregation and no one is lost in that mass of humanity. This is why our Creeds begin with, “I believe in God,” and not “We believe.…” Our communion flows from each person’s rivulet of faith, merging into a flood of blessings for those who receive us.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.