HOSPITALITY -- BUT...

 Today we Benedictines celebrate the memorial of ¨Martha, Mary and Lazarus, Hosts of the Lord." It is a day for reflecting on our monastic tradition of hospitality. 

St. Benedict in his Rule for Monks has a whole chapter on the reception of guests, in which he directs that all guests are to be welcomed as Christ. The porter, who is in charge of answering the door, is especially charged with making sure that guests are treated with humility and generosity.

There is, however, in the chapter on hospitality, a wise lesson for all of us, including lay folks: the Rule actually shows a marked distrust of guests! As soon as a guest shows up at the door, the superior and the brothers must always pray with the guest before exchanging the kiss of peace, “because of the delusions of the devil.” Brothers are not to speak with a guest without the abbot’s permission. Experience had shown Benedict that evil influences can sometimes slip into the monastery unnoticed—forces that can slowly erode our commitment to living the gospel.

This is true for any Christian trying to follow Christ. Especially during the days of imposed isolation and quarantine, millions of people opened wide the doors of their homes via the internet to some very questionable guests in the guise of innocent relaxation, and soon these moved in and became familiar friends. And besides the internet, we welcome, for example, TV sitcoms and junk magazines.

It’s curious how we protect ourselves from harmful intruders by putting double locks and cameras on our doors and burglar alarms on our windows, but then we allow into our homes a parade of seedy strangers in movies and television programs—strangers who pose a real threat to our deepest beliefs and convictions.

Benedict knew all about the need for carefully checking out any guest who was being welcomed into the monastery. He would certainly agree, I think, that constant and indiscriminate exposure to programs and videos that glorify materialism, deceit, selfishness, and promiscuity will inevitably change our attitudes, confuse our sense of right and wrong, and weaken our commitment to following Jesus. To think otherwise, Benedict would insist, is dangerously naïve.

We are far from alone in our own homes. Lots of characters are passing in and out all the time— and some of them bear careful watching. On our life journey to the Kingdom there has to be a part of you and me that keeps asking questions: “Why am I watching this program that glorifies adultery?” “Do I really think that a steady diet of this junk will not affect my spiritual health?”

Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus, who opened their home to Jesus, are good models for us. But let us also ask their help as we try to keep out of our homes visitors who can harm us.