Radical Hospitality

By The Rev. Craig A. Phillips, Ph.D.

Over the past couple of decades, many congregations have sought to practice “radical hospitality.” Simply put, that means welcoming those who come into the doors of the church in the most hospitable way imaginable. Most Christians would agree that as a church congregation, they want to practice hospitality and welcome everyone who comes to them. Radical hospitality goes further and says that everyone is welcome without conditions. Radical hospitality means: All are welcome; the doors are open to everyone.

In the gospels, Jesus sets the example of Christian welcome. He was not talking specifically about welcoming folks into the building of a church but rather on the reception of the Christian message.

Jesus sends his disciples out into the world with the following words:

As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food (Matt 10:7–10).

Jesus, then, concludes with these words:

Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward (Matt 10:40–42).

This is about welcoming. The one who receives good news from the disciple who has been sent out receives the good news as if it came from Christ himself. And, whoever offers the disciple a cup of cold water to those in need (the little ones) does it as if it were done for Christ himself. Cold water is life-giving. The gift of cold water to a thirsty person is symbolic of so much more. It is about the sharing of life and love with another. It is an act of love. Whenever we offer a proverbial cup of cold water to someone else, it is as if we were sharing it with Christ himself.

In the 6th Century, St. Benedict of Nursia formulated a rule for the monastery living, what he called, “a school for the Lord’s service.” Throughout Europe, the monasteries were the primary caregivers for the poor and needy.  They had constant visitors.   Visitors to your home, as I’m certain you know from your own experience, no matter how lovely or charming, can be disruptive. Visitors to the monastery meant that the monks would have to alter their day-to-day routine to accommodate the needs of their guests.

Monasteries flooded with guests in search of hospitality needed some guidelines on how to greet and welcome visitors. The Rule of Benedict set out a path to greet and welcome visitors in a way that did not interrupt or unsettle the rhythm of monastic living. The Rule of Benedict set down some guidelines on how guests were to be welcomed by the monks living in the monastery and some rules about the expected behavior of the guests. Chapter 53 of the Rule concerns “The Reception of Guests” to the monastery.  This is one of the earliest guides in Christian history that tells how visitors and newcomers should be welcomed by the Christian community of the church. It offers practical advice to those of us who welcome visitors today.

“All guests [Latin, hospites = strangers] who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt 25:35) [RB 53:1].

The Rule of Benedict continues:

“Once a guest has been announced, the superior and the brothers are to meet him with all courtesy of love. First, they are to pray together and thus be united in peace…” [RB 53:3] “…All humility should be shown in addressing a guest on arrival or departure. By a bow of the head or by a complete prostration of the body, Christ is to be adored because he is indeed welcomed in them” [RB 53:6].

Doesn’t prostrating before a guest seem a bit excessive? Why would the monks consider doing this?  Because in the guest, as the Rule directs, “Christ is to be adored because he is indeed welcomed in them.” To honor the guest is to honor Christ Himself.

The monks are also reminded not to show favoritism to the guests as each and every guest, no matter how wealthy or poor deserves the same respect.

Great care and concern are to be shown in receiving poor people and pilgrims, because in them more particularly Christ is received; our very awe of the rich guarantees them special respect [RB 53:15].

If I were to compose a welcome card for guests at a church, I would paraphrase the Rule of Benedict slightly so that it read: “Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ himself, for he will say, ‘I came as a guest and you welcomed me.’”

Can you honestly say that you see the face of Christ in all who arrive through the doors of the Christian congregation?

Extending the welcome of Christ to everyone who comes here is our desire and our prayer. In the guest, the stranger, the alien in the land, the visitor—in the face of the poor and in those seeking God—we see the face of Christ. We see the face of Christ in another person, and we see the face of Christ in one another.

Jesus said that “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve…” (Mark 10:45). In other words, Jesus calls those who follow him to the service of others. We often look to the church and ask how it can serve me? When we do that, we are asking the wrong question; It is not, “how can the church serve me?”, but “how can I serve others?”

Bishop Robert Schnase of the Missouri United Methodist Annual Conference puts the question this way: “Do we focus only on how our needs are met or do we open ourselves to the possibility that our needs may best be met when we place ourselves in the service of others in Christ’s name?” Radical hospitality changes us. When we recognize Christ in another, we encounter Jesus himself—and who knows what transformation that meeting might bring?

Bishop Schnase pointedly observes that:

To become a vibrant, fruitful, growing congregation requires a change of attitudes, practices, and values. Good intentions are not enough. Too many churches want more young people as long as they act like old people, more newcomers as long as they act like old-timers, more children as long as they are as quiet as adults, more ethnic families as long as they act like the majority in the congregation.

All congregations provide some form of hospitality. Radical hospitality, however, goes beyond mere meeting expectations by creating an inclusive culture and adopting an inviting mindset that welcomes guests with open arms.

All of us have a proverbial cup of cold water to share with others.  Cold water is life-giving.  The gift of cold water is about the sharing of our life and love with another person or persons.  It is an act of love.  Whenever we offer cold water to someone else, it is as if we were sharing it with Christ himself.  When we recognize the presence of Jesus in the face of the visitor, the stranger, the sojourner, and the pilgrim, we meet the living Christ.

I challenge you to think and pray about what these simple words from the Rule of Benedict, and the words of Jesus himself, might mean for your own practice of radical hospitality.