Doorway Three: Welcome, Day 2

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. ~ Hebrews 13:2 NRSV

In the painting above, we see another part of the advent story of Mary and Joseph being welcomed in the inn after a very long, tiring trip on foot and donkey. After knocking on many doors, with many refusals, finally an inn keeper had mercy on them and gave them a dirty, smelly stable. It certainly was not the ideal place for a birth but Mary and Joseph welcomed the place to rest.

Many of us have experienced wonderful examples of hospitality. I recall many acts of welcome from my K'ekchi' friends in Guatemala. One that sticks out in my mind is when a friend and I hiked into a remote village to hold a baby clinic where many children suffered from malnutrition. The village health worker invited us to his home and his wife served us one hardboiled egg with tortillas and hot chili, the only food they had in the house. Feeling uncomfortable receiving all they had to eat, we asked if we could divide the one egg among the four of us. We broke tortillas and ate the egg together. This act of hospitality was transformative in my life.

Recently I saw the inspiring movie, "Same Kind of Different as Me". It is a true story about a rich, arrogant business man, Ron Hall, and his wife, Debbie. Debbie started working in a homeless shelter and with much resistance Ron joined her. Denver, one of the homeless men, was one of the most angry and violent men in the shelter, having suffered much discrimination and trauma in his life. The hostility in his heart closed him off from everyone. Debbie insisted in befriending Denver by showing him respect and slowly he began to trust her. "This welcoming love eventually opened the door of his heart, enabling him to bring forth the amazing wisdom dwelling inside him. Eventually their patient kindness softened his deliberate distance and allowed a magnificent friendship to unfold". Not only was Denver transformed in this story, but this act of welcome changed the lives of the whole family forever

Reflection stories

Welcome stories in scripture and in our lives show us glimpses of God's nature. Reflect on welcome stories in your own life that have changed you in some way.

• Have there been times when welcoming another was a risk but you felt compelled to love and accept that person? What kind of transformation happened in you, and in the other?

• Can you imagine God welcoming you unconditionally as in the stories from this week.

Song:: He Comes, The Porter's Gate Worship Project, Molly Parden, Jonathan Odgen

Spiritual Practice: The Welcoming Prayer by Father Thomas Keating - The welcoming prayer can become part of your regular prayer practice. You might like to try doing this prayer each day of advent.

Prayer:

Divine Guest,

I lovingly welcome you

with the openness of my entire being.

I desire to receive people who are strangers

with this same spirit of graciousness.

Free my mind when it locks out others.

Disarm my heart of any armor it wears.

I open the door of my heart to you.

I open the door.

~ Joyce Rupp

Sources:

Rupp, J. (2008). Open the Door: A Journey to the True Self. Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books