A most practical form of service is hospitality. As we journey the path of monastic spirituality, we may wrestle with the “must do” nature of social service. Voices cry out, “Get out there and do great things!” Those voices often find way into the Church, “Get out there and do great things! It’s good isn’t it?” We are called to serve, but the call is to serve where we are planted. We must be willing to do the not-so-great things, the humble things, the menial things, the things that no one else wants to do, the things that no one will take notice of when they are completed. The willingness to do those things is the fruit of transformed hearts that first and foremost is set on being with God. Once again, The Rule calls us into being rather than doing. Certainly, things get done! However, the doing is not the objective. Doing becomes the fruit of being.
So, here St. Benedict calls on the community to be hospitable. Welcoming guest, if a job to be done, can be wearying. Especially for introverts like myself. We value quiet, focused time without interruption. If we must DO hospitality, it might become a hateful task. However, as we are transformed into the likeness of Christ, we become hospitable. It exudes from our being. It is not burdensome, but natural. So, if I see others as Christ then my time spent with them is merely time spent with him.
The concept of transformation is more challenging than we recognize at first glance. Transformation may easily roll off our lips as we desire to look at ourselves on the butterfly side of the cocoon. However, most of us remain in the chrysalis. We are wet and wrestling for freedom. We desire to fly, but our wings are not yet formed. The opportunities to live life as Christ are the necessary exercises the Holy Spirit uses for our metamorphosis. Whether abbot or aspirant, the comfort of our guests become a central concern. The difference is the degree of hospitality received by the guest, and not the degree of effort given by the monk. The aspirant may only have a smile to offer to make the guest comfortably welcome. The abbot may have authority to sit at a meal, engage in conversation, and offer comfortable accommodations for rest. All give what they can, and Christ is honored while clothed in the form of the guest.
