Continuing with our reflections on the 12 marks of the New Monasticism, we encounter the third mark:

“Hospitality to the stranger”

The first mark of the new monasticism dealt with getting to the right location, whether physical or spiritual. The second addressed sharing with one another within a living and vital community.

This third mark of the new monasticism take things one step further: sharing hospitality with strangers.

After all, it’s one thing to share resources and time with people that you know well: friends and family that you know and trust, sometimes for years or even decades. It’s a bigger step of love to reach out beyond your typical circles of relationships to give freely to those in need whom you may have never met before.

The dictionary defines hospitality as “the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers” and, perhaps more enlightening for us here, “the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hospitality).

Although this mark pertains specifically to strangers, it is often the case that guests and strangers come together. Who of us have not had occasion where we were planning to entertain a guest yet that guest brought along a stranger whom we had not met before? In these cases, I think that this dictionary definition might need to say “guests and strangers” instead of “guests or strangers”.

And while I think that “tag-along” strangers that come along with intended guests are indeed strangers, I think that the intent of this mark is to drive our imagination out to care for the strangers for whom we cannot even call “friends of friends”. 

Some of you may have seen the Africa Trek television series, where Alexandre Poussin and his wife Sonia walk across Africa from south to north. During this amazing adventure, Alexandre and Sonia walked through remote parts of Africa that were far from any hotel. As they walked, they often encountered strangers who insisted that the two of them stop and stay with them for the night. Much of their journey centered around the hospitality of these perfect strangers who then became friends. In a very real sense, this cross-continent journey was not Alexandre and Sonia’s alone, but also the journey of the friendships and hospitality that they found along the way.

So what is the hospitality that we should offer?

I could offer a list here, yet I think that the yearning to be hospitable should be whatever is truly and uniquely on your heart to do.

At its heart, true hospitality, whatever it is, is, ultimately, an expression of love. It must be something more than a mere “bargained-for exchange”. True hospitality is all about giving of yourself and expecting nothing in return.

I also believe that hospitality is an expression of home. Hospitality is where strangers and friends are welcomed in and truly made to feel “at home”, if only temporarily. And please remember that sometimes we are the ones who bring the hospitality, that true sense of home, to others by visiting those who cannot go out themselves: the shut-ins and the prisoners, for example.

What prevents us from offering that hospitality?

1.  Well, I think that the first mark has to come first: relocate to the abandoned places. You first need to be a location where strangers are more likely to be found.

2.  Second, you should be practicing the second mark: sharing with friends. If you are already being hospitable to friends, it will be a lot easier to do so with strangers. Here, you are already practicing the habits of hospitality with each other.

3.  Hoarding prevents us from giving to others: to friends or to strangers. After all, we each need to be reminded that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive. Giving is a lifestyle choice (as is hoarding, BTW).

4.  Strangers often come at times that are the most “inconvenient” to our personal schedules. Because we don’t yet know them, there is no way to “synchronize our schedules”. Yet this inconvenience becomes convenient when it’s something that marks our lives. Showing hospitality to strangers is all about putting other people first, even when it adversely (and probably temporarily) impacts our time.

5.  Finally, sometimes we’re scared. After all, strangers are not people that we know and trust (at least not yet). Yet this, in and of itself, should not be an excuse. Depending on your own particular circumstances and as you are led by the spirit of God, you should be able to practice hospitality to strangers in a way that is safe and secure.

Today, I’m beginning a multi-part series about the 12 marks of the New Monasticism movement. Each of these marks is presented at the following link and below in this post:

http://www.newmonasticism.org/12marks/12marks.php

The compilation of these 12 marks of the way of life for New Monasticism took place in the summer 2004. These 12 marks point out the commonalities in a way of life for many diverse faith communities of followers of Christ. Most of these communities are located somewhere in North America.

Over time, I’ll be presenting each of these 12 marks to you here at shadowsandsymbols.org for your consideration. My aim in doing so is not so much to present an intellectual or theological analysis of each of the marks; nor is my goal to provide examples of how followers of Christ are attempting to demonstrate each one. Besides seeking to introduce more people to this increasingly important movement, my main objective here in presenting these marks to you is to provide points of meditation and reflection on the lifestyle and characteristics of followers of Christ that each one presents.

You might agree or disagree with each of the 12 marks or how each one is currently interpreted by the various communities of New Monastics. You may even disagree with the entire concept of having a list of 12 marks. Or you might be thinking that these marks are good for New Monastics but not for others. Conversely, you may be coming at this from the opposite side: You might be asking yourself, “Why aren’t Christ’s followers already doing these things?” Regardless of your initial thoughts on this subject, I think that, at the least, each one of these points is worthwhile of prayer and careful, reflective thought, and I would please invite you here to examine each of these 12 principles of faith and community.

As you reflect upon each of these marks, I’d recommend neither accepting nor rejecting each one too quickly. Rather, slowly and carefully read each one and think about what each of the 12 marks might mean to you.

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The 12 Marks of the New Monasticism

1.  Relocation to the abandoned places of Empire

2.  Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us

3.  Hospitality to the stranger

4.  Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities
combined with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation

5.  Humble submission to Christ’s body, the church

6.  Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the
community along the lines of the old novitiate

7.  Nurturing common life among members of intentional community

8.  Support for celibate singles alongside monogamous married couples and their children.

9.  Geographical proximity to community members who share a common rule of life

10.  Care for the plot of God’s earth given to us along with support of our local economies

11.  Peacemaking in the midst of violence and conflict resolution within communities along the lines of Matthew 18

12.  Commitment to a disciplined contemplative life