Hospitality to Strangers is an Important Aspect of True Religion

 

Homily by Fr. Kizito Kiyimba, SJ
13th Sunday Ordinary Time [A] at 12 Noon Mass
St. Ignatius Church, Tokyo

I would like to first thank my Jesuit companion, Fr Cyril Veliath, for giving me this opportunity to share God's word with you. I made two promises to him: First, that I was not going to do here, what I would be tempted to do back home in Uganda, namely talk for a good 45 minutes. Secondly, I would say something related to his area of interest and research: Interreligious Dialogue.

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, since this is such an international community, we have at least one common experience: receiving hospitality. Someone has taken it upon themselves to welcome us, someone has helped show us the way, or translate Japanese script, put a roof over our heads, etc.
The readings today are both a celebration of hospitality, and an invitation and challenge to more hospitality. The readings tell us that hospitality is a central mark of true religion.


In addition to the readings, on June 20, we celebrated World Refugee Day. I thought it would be timely to remind ourselves of a few grim statistics. According to current United Nations figures, 65.6 million people around the globe have been forced to leave home. Of these, about 20 million have been forced to cross a border and leave their country. About 40 million have been internally displaced. The Syrian crisis alone has created 5.5 million refugees. 4 million people in South Sudan have been internally displaced. In all this, what is even more appalling, religion has been used to cause the pain of forced migration.


The readings give us a much needed message. In general, God has been generous and faithful in creating this beautiful world, and then welcoming us into it as humans. He has then challenged us to migrate further on this journey, from what is merely human and spontaneous, to what is humane. We, on our part, have not always given the right response. Often, we have acted with indifference, or we have taken our God - given gifts for granted. We have many times misused the gifts, and at worst even abused them.


Take the gift of language. We have sometimes misused language to exclude. We have even abused language to disfigure, to denigrate, to unjustly classify and rebuke. Take the gift of family. God has given us family, and nation, and ethnic groups. But we have often abused this gift by discriminating, persecuting and bringing down those we consider as "other" than us. The same can be said of religion. We have sometimes misused religion to draw boundaries between "insiders" and "outsiders". At worst, we have meted out violence in the name of religion.


One reason why Pope Francis has universal appeal, is that he speaks to us at that deep level, beyond our being Catholics. He reaches beyond that boundary, to speak to and engage in what is humane.


Looking more specifically at the readings, we find a set of challenges for us this week. In the First Reading, we are reminded that one good turn deserves another. Prophet Elijah received the hospitality of the woman of Shunem. In the end, he returned the hospitality. He prayed for her to bear a son. Do not be the last recipient of a good act. Pass it on.


In the Responsorial Psalm, the challenge is that while God is faithful in fulfilling His promises to us, He counts on each one of us to help Him answer one another's prayers.


In the Second Reading, our possible objection against naive hospitality is answered in this way. You may be saying: how can I be expected to be hospitable, when my hospitality risks being abused. There will be people who will want to take advantage. But the way forward is more hospitality! We have the experience in our global history that the answer to war is not more war, but peace. We are challenged to turn the other cheek. The reading challenges us to choose a death - a death to sin, if we are dying in Christ.

The Gospel challenges us further. Our Lord tells us that if we are not ready to break out of the mold of the ordinary and familiar, i.e. our family - father, mother, brothers and sisters, children etc., then we are not worthy of Him. He has so thoroughly identified Himself with the stranger as "His disciple." To find and follow Him, we have to open up to the stranger.


And so, dear brothers and sisters, let us go back and ask ourselves the question: What is my attitude to the stranger? This call and challenge requires constant conversion in us. We need to keep pressing on beyond the familiar. That is true religion.