Welcoming The Stranger

It has been many generations since my forbearers came to this country. My father’s great grandfather Pierre Delcuze immigrated to New Orleans from France after the Civil War to help in the rebuilding of the New Orleans public school system. Yet in my adult years, I have found myself a stranger in many places. Moves to Boston, West Virginia, Virginia and Connecticut have branded me as a “stranger” in many parts.

I have found the faith community in greater Danbury to be a place of profound welcome. Rabbi Jon Haddon was the first person outside my own congregation to send me greetings when I arrived in Ridgefield. Since then, Temple Shearith Israel has been my home away from home. Fr. Angelo Arrando opens his arms and the considerable hospitality of St. Gregory’s to many. The Rev. P.J. Leopold works daily at ARC assuring that every person who calls or walks in is treated with dignity.

Why do people of faith put such high value on hospitality and welcome? The Hebrew Scriptures have more than 100 references to special honor due the “alien” in the land. Recalling the enslavement of Israel’s children in Egypt, Holy Scripture calls on believers to treat aliens with special dignity. They are not to be mistreated; indeed they are to keep Sabbath rest alongside the believers.

In 4^th Century Italy, the young monk Benedict of Nursia wrote that the monastics were to welcome each stranger as they would welcome Christ. This standard is a high one. We have all been taught to stand when a dignitary enters the room. We know to take a lower seat and let the honored guest sit at the head table. But Benedictines take this teaching further, insisting that every stranger bears the image of Christ.

My Episcopal heritage reinforces the essential worth of strangers in our midst. Every baptism includes this questions and answer: “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?” Each time, the response is, “I will with God’s help.” Human dignity is not attained or granted by license, it is granted by the Creator who made each human being in God’s own image and likeness.

The effects of treating the other with dignity are indeed remarkable. Scott Peck in his book The Different Drum describes how a monastery on the edge of failure asks the rabbi of the town for advice. After meeting with each of the aging brothers he tells the abbot, “I have no advice to give you, but the Messiah is one of you.”

As weeks passed each monk began to wonder who among them was the chosen one. Astonishingly, the monks began to treat each other differently. Regarding the gifts of those around them, they began to interact in new ways. Soon visitors could see the light of kindness in the place. Not long after the monastery began to thrive. Thanks to the Rabbi’s gift, and the brothers willingness to live differently.

Perhaps the best way to learn about welcoming the stranger is to recall times when we ourselves have been met with hospitality. Traveling across Wales by train during my sabbatical some years ago I made it as far as Swansea before realizing that I would have to stop for the night. I wandered into a Tandoori restaurant and threw myself at the mercy of the waiter. I told him I was tired and a long way from home. Knowing nothing of South Asian cuisine I asked him to bring me whatever he would eat tonight.

He told me that he too was a stranger in Wales. A Bangladeshi and a Muslim, he worked to support his extended family back home. As we talked, plate after plate of food came out. With each course I felt a little more human. When the meal ended, I asked for the bill. No charge, he insisted; you are my guest tonight. I left as much tip as I could and offered my As-Salamu Alaykum. It will always be counted among the greatest meals of my life.

In Jesus’ final parable he describes the great judgment of souls at the end of time. Here is the divine criterion for judgment: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

No papers, no passports, just people welcoming the stranger.