January 15, 2008

Hospitality is a word that has been on my mind a lot in the last ten days as I have travelled in India with a group of Drew students. We’ve been led by Professor Wesley Ariarajah, a true practitioner of hospitality. His experience and reputation as someone who can discuss and negotiate difficult topics with genuine care and concern for others is legendary. So we have been greeted warmly and treated well on his behalf.

A few days ago we had two encounters in the morning that pushed me to really think about the notion of hospitality. Late in the morning we listened to a lecture on globalization and its negative effects on the poorest of the poor. As part of the presentation, the speaker showed us a video that portrayed the USA in an extremely negative light. It was satiric and flippant but clearly conveyed the message that US foreign policy, especially under Bush, has been destructive.

In many ways, this seemed like inhospitality – mocking ones guests – with little or no discussion of the piece amongst us. Yet in other ways it struck me as a deeply honest act, a willingness to let us see how we are viewed by many around the globe. The action has sparked a lot of thoughtful discussion amongst the group – some people upset at the simplistic portrayal, others pointing out that our own news media regularly portray people in other nations in simplistic, stereotyped ways. While I wouldn’t classify the act as “hospitality,” I definitely appreciate the courage of the speaker.

This session followed upon the most amazing experience of the journey for me. We met that morning with the retired metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Church, His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostom Mar Thoma. Chrysostom (as others seemed to call him) is ninety years old. He joined us on the second floor porch of his residence on a beautiful Monday morning. One of his assistants had already welcomed us. As the bishop joined us, I was expecting him to speak for a while and then ask if we had questions. Instead, after a few preliminary remarks, he looked at the students and asked, “What do you mean that we are all one?” Clearly this was not a rhetorical question – he expected an answer. One student bravely stepped up to the task. He responded with yet another question. Soon the students began edging closer and closer to be sure they could hear the questions and his occasional pearls of wisdom.

He shared with us that he had eaten the prasad that his personal assistant, a Hindu, had brought back from a pilgrimage. He had been criticized by some in the church for this. Did God love this Hindu as much as he loves Christians? Does God love the person in jail as much as he loves Wesley Ariarajah? With these and many other questions he probed at the issues with which our students have been grappling. Occasionally he gave answers (“God doesn’t love anyone more than anyone else”) but more often he drew out reflections by posing questions.

We had met a real guru, a truly holy man, with a playful sense of humor and a deep understanding of the spiritual issues raised for Christian seminarians. He too them seriously and engaged them at a deep level. He told parables to elicit responses. This is true hospitality – to enter into deep dialogue with another and to share from the soul.

As we crowded around to take pictures afterwards, I knew that I was not alone in hoping that the picture will remind me of his powerful spiritual presence.