Practicing hospitality

"There are families where the faith is not developed, because what is given is traditions poisoned by economic and political interests and wrapped up with things of faith. They want a religion that will merely support those interests. And when the church protests against such selfishness, sins, and abuses, then it is thought to be departing from the truth, and these Christians, with their children and all, go away and continue to live traditions that are not true Christian traditions." ~Archbishop Oscar Romero 12.31.78

"Let no family isolate itself from society as a whole because it is itself well off...It will be so easy once boys and girls are trained in the heart of each family to aspire not to have more but to be more, not to grab everything but to give abundantly to others. They must be educated for love. Loving is what the family is all about, and loving means giving oneself, surrendering oneself to the well-being of all and working for the common happiness." ~Archbishop Oscar Romero 10.7.79

I have learned much about family from my Latino brothers and sisters, as I have learned much about generosity, hospitality, and giving. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why I feel so comfortable and grounded in Latin America; I have always been so well taken care of.

This visit in El Salvador is a case in point. Another female pastor from Virginia and I stayed in the home of Maria, her daughter Brenda, and Brenda's son Diego. They have a small two-bedroom house, and we were given one of the bedrooms. We were treated like family from the moment we arrived, except that we weren't allowed to do any chores or work around the house (as is usually expected of family!) We ate delicious food, watched tv with the family in the evenings, and played with Diego. The day that I asked where I could buy some cough drops, Brenda went out and bought some within the hour (after she had been at work all day, an hour-long bus ride away).

I know that hospitality to strangers was of utmost importance in the culture of the Bible. This is why Abraham and Sarah fall all over themselves to provide for the three strangers who are passing through their camp in Genesis 18. This culture of hospitality is alive and well in Latin America, where strangers and visitors are treated like honored guests.

I wonder if that level of hospitality is encountered here, in the United States, among the dominant culture. I often feel that strangers are seen as intruders or dangerous unknowns instead of potential bearers of God's blessing (did you ever hear the phrase about entertaining angels unaware?) We have large homes and spare bedrooms and even sometimes extra cars, and yet, are we generous and giving of our resources and our homes?

Generosity and giving are characteristics that Archbishop Romero says are learned at home, within the context of family. I know that Diego is growing up in a home where hospitality for strangers, generosity and sacrificial giving are practiced and modeled. Can we say the same? Are we giving such that it hurts, to the stranger, the visitor, the outcast? Or are we demonstrating the selfishness and obsession for accumulation that characterizes much of our society?