The local people showed us extraordinary kindness… Acts 28:2a
“Becoming hospitality entails that we consciously choose to embody love in the world as our Lord Jesus did. By exploring these five pathways we all have the opportunity to reflect on how we project hospitality into all of our realms of being, and most especially into that of our spiritual direction encounters. [1] By recognizing the seminal role of prayer in our life, we can approach it with passion and constancy regardless of the forms it may take. [2] Through placing radical trust in the God we walk with, we realize that we are never alone and that God is with us in a way that often goes beyond the immediacy of emotion or feeling. [3] Letting go of our images of God teaches us to discover the mystery of God in the present moment. [4] Choosing to forgive liberates us from the past and allows us to live and love more freely in the moment. [5] And, finally, by cultivating a generous heart, we are able to let go of our fears and move toward a life of unconditional love–the essence of what it means to become hospitality. Thus, by reflecting on each of these pathways, we have seen how hospitality provides a noble way of being in the world if we can only remember who we are.”
Leslie A. Hay in Hospitality: The Heart of Spiritual Direction (Harrisburg: Morehouse, 2006) 90.
Five reasons I explored “becoming hospitality” this morning.
[1] Wes Willmer, my mentor, blessed me by generously clearing his schedule to serve with me in South Korea and Australia. [2] Sung Wook Chung and Ho Chan Hwang cared for each and every need Wes and I had in South Korea, then Gary & Debbie Williams and Stephen & Kate Kerr bountifully followed suit in Gold Coast, Australia [3] Geoff Folland (one of my former students) extended selfless kindness to me by rearranging his schedule, picking me up at Sydney airport, and opening his heart and life with me over coffee yesterday. [4] Tom and Jaime Schell are not only sharing their spare room with me for three nights, they are touring me around Sydney (the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are pictured above) and introducing me to the friends God has brought into their lives. [5] And, frankly, I miss my wife (who happens to be a hospitable spiritual director). I can’t wait to see her on Monday. These five pathways reflect her life!Want to exhibit “becoming hospitality”?
Hay is spot on with her suggestions on intentional steps we can take to grow in this area: Root our lives in prayer. Exhibit radical trust in God. Attune to how His Spirit may be at work in the present. Realize that forgiveness is key to all of living and loving (that one has taken me a while to figure out!). And, cultivate a generous heart.