The word hospitality is derived from Latin, hospitalitas which means friendliness to guests. And what better way to display such as in preparing for Thanksgiving. This practice means taking care of others by making them comfortable and welcoming. Here are 3 displays of table settings we have organised this year. We learnt a lot from our monastic years about taking care of the guest. Saint Benedict in his rule for monks devotes an entire chapter on the "Reception of Guests."Attention to detail was paramount because in the guest, the monk was to see Christ. It is about entertaining the divine when one person is gracious to another.
Away from beautiful table settings is the mundane care for others. Our Christian perspective is described in Matthew 25:31-45 as caring for the physical, social and spiritual needs of others, especially those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, foreigners and imprisoned. On Thanksgiving Day, we try to focus on being hospitable and hope that this gift would last a lifetime.
We pray with friends and family gathered together for a meal. We remember those who have no-one, those easily judged or condemned. May our frowns become smiles with those who sometimes irritate us. May we invite more friendships in our lives and allow despair to become hope and sadness, joy.
"Hospitality is not to change people; but, to offer them space where change can take place." (Henri Nouwen)
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