STM's staff will share an image and reflect on it each Saturday. Today, David writes about hospitality and the Church through an image of a meal at the Farm of the Child, a children’s home in Honduras where David spent over two years.
Being Catholic for me has been inextricably linked to hospitality, most vividly in the sharing of meals. Christ calls us to love our neighbor, make the stranger less other, transforming them into a friend. I can think of no better way to do so than sharing a meal together. Our Church is a community, and I’ve always seen the community built in the kitchen and dining table. Differences are set aside over a meal and we can let our guard down. It is the central hub for my family and every functional intentional community I’ve been a part of. Mealtime is the time to build community. It’s messy, it’s fun, and it’s natural. What is the Mass after all, but a celebration over a meal modeled after the example of Christ?
Who is at our table is important. In our gospel reading today we see Jesus join a banquet he seemingly had no business being at. Often critiqued for associating with sinners, Jesus responds as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, because of course, for him, it is. When we begin to see the world through God’s eyes just a bit, the radical hospitality asked of us will begin to click. Jesus is always there for those who need him. While his great works are often what we first remember about him, his tremendous capacity for imagination and creativity are the hallmarks of his ministry. When we envision who is welcome at our table, who do we imagine? Do we have the same scope of imagination of Jesus in welcoming those denied elsewhere?
We’re told that when we remove from our midst oppression, false accusation, malicious speech, and when we bestow bread to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted, then God is there for us. Working for justice and doing the works of mercy are the callings we’ve been given. It is our mission to expand our hospitality. When we actually live out the Gospel, our worldview expands and like Christ, we can be more loving and creative.
