Hospitality for All
Text: Matthew 22:34-40
Today we are observing Indigenous Day of Prayer, the Sunday before National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21). What does it mean for us to celebrate Indigenous Day of Prayer? How can we participate in it? It would be helpful to understand the original intention and how it was kept by those who practiced the ritual.
Stan McKay, a former Moderator of the United Church and a Cree elder says, National Indigenous Peoples Day is rooted in spiritual teachings on the land. It was in the 1970s when he first heard of the Indigenous Day of Prayer. The United Churches collaborated with the traditional teachings in developing a ceremony of fasting and prayer by a sacred fire. It would begin at noon on June 20 and end at noon on June 21 with a feast. It was a spiritual renewing of the covenant between the Creator, the people, and creation.
From the beginning it’s all about relationship. We are invited on this day to renew our relationship with God, with one another, and with our neighbours including the whole creation. And that’s what the ceremony is for.
We come together even while being apart every Sunday to worship God. If what we do in worship doesn’t help build up our relationships, what’s the point of doing that? It’s got to be more than seeing each other’s face and feeling better afterwards. Our worship is countercultural. In a world where increasing number of people feel lonely or isolated, worship provides spaces of belonging not based on membership but based on the unconditional acceptance and love. In a world where there is so much pain and suffering, worship provides spaces to pray for healing, and to work for peace. In a world where we human beings constantly destroy other species, and reshape the earth at our own peril, worship provides alternate ways of living – from consumerism to sustaining all life. In a world where divisive messages prevail based on the false notion of us and them, worship provides spaces for life-giving messages based on radical hospitality.
Our worship is so much more than what we experience in one hour on Sunday morning. It’s about knowing who we really are and finding our place in the family of God. Worship and work are one, jut like loving God and loving our neighbours are one.
A lawyer asked Jesus to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus replied, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And then he quickly added the following commandment. “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” The two commandments didn’t come in order as if one weighed more than the other. Instead, Jesus combined the two to indicate that they are one. It’s not either/or but both/and.
In other words, our love for God is meant to be expressed by our actions in the world. St. Augustine’s question, “what do I love when I love my God?” can help us clarify how we can practice our love for God in a concrete and tangible way. So, what do you love when you love your God? I invite you to take a moment in silence to start making a list of what you love when you love your God. I will give you three minutes to do this exercise. The more specific, the better. Let’s begin.
What did you notice? What did you learn about yourself? What insight did you receive by doing this? One thing I noticed by doing this exercise on my own was that I love these things because what they do for me. They feel pretty much safe and comfortable to me. I realized that I remained in a safe zone. I don’t love anything that gives me a challenge or discomfort. It got me thinking, ‘where is a room for growth?’ If God is the Creator of everything, and if God loves everyone equally and unconditionally, I must expand my horizons, and broaden my boundaries so I can genuinely love what God loves. Though I often talk about radical hospitality, my words are empty if I don’t walk the talk.
The word, “radical” comes from the Lantin word for “root”. Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd in her recent book, Thriving Churches, talks about radical hospitality as one of spiritual attributes to a thriving church.
If we return to our Jewish and Christian roots of hospitality, we are challenged both to welcome others into our homes and to accept their welcome of us into their homes. It is sometimes easier to be the host than the guest. Guests need to learn how to adapt and accept practices and food that might be unfamiliar. Being able to offer as well as receive hospitality may radically reorient us back to our roots as we enter into relationships with people of different faiths, cultures, and classes. (Shepherd, 2021: 19-20)
So, I can say I am radically hospitable, only when I know how to receive a gift from the very person who gives me a hard time. I can continue to add to the list of what I love when I love God by stretching my comfort levels a little by little.
The boundary between us and them in the Bible is not clear as we like it to be. In fact, it’s blurry and liquid. The second commandment – you shall love your neighbour as yourself - is from Leviticus 19:18. The whole chapter 19 talks about a new life in God – how to be holy with rituals and practices. Worship and work must be one. At the heart of the life of godliness lies the love of our neighbour as ourselves. What has not been paid enough attention, but equally significant is verse 34, which redefines in what extent we must be friendly and neighborly. “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” The boundary between us and them, citizens and aliens, refugees, strangers or addicts dissolves. In other words, there is no limit when it comes to hospitality. Everyone and everything are included in the family of God. And we can’t love God while rejecting anyone or any group who belongs to God.
By emulating this radical inclusion of God, we can truly participate in the Indigenous Day of Prayer. Having met many Indigenous elders and friends across the Turtle Island, I have experienced and learned the radical hospitality. Nothing or no one is missing and everything and everyone are welcome in the circle around the Sacred Fire. We have so much work to do in terms of mending the harms and restoring the relationship between Indigenous peoples and settler Canadians. Our work can only begin by renewing our minds and hearts, and recognizing that everyone’s healing is bound together, and that everyone’s liberation is bound together. (Lisa Watson)
I’d like to end my reflection with a heartfelt message from Stan McKay, who taught me such radical hospitality.
“In the struggle to maintain health and purpose during this global pandemic, we continue to act and pray with respect and love. As there is an environmental crisis and a concern about the loss of diverse life forms on our planet, we must reclaim our identity and values as Indigenous Peoples and encourage our relatives (all peoples) to share the responsibility of caring for creation so that those yet unborn may live.” May it be so. Amen.