When I think about radical hospitality, the first thing that comes to mind is Homer’s The Odyssey, then Christianity. Radical hospitality was of the highest importance to the Greeks. The host treated the stranger with lavish feasts and the utmost respect, regardless of political allegiances, because traveling took much longer and was more dangerous in those days. Also, it was believed that the gods of Olympus looked unfavorably on the unhospitable. Thus, the host-guest relationship offered some form of guaranteed security for the wanderer, even in enemy territory.
Specifically in The Odyssey, the existence of the narrative itself is predicated on the host-guest relationship. Odysseus is treated to a feast by his host, King Alcinous, at which Alcinous asks him how he came to his doorstep. He invites Odysseus to share the story of his travels, which make up the main plot of the epic poem. There are definitely elements of this Greek tradition of hospitality that shape and inform the Christian concepts of radical hospitality.
In the Christian tradition, we are called to be radically hospitable to our neighbor because they are the face of Christ. Radical hospitality evolves from something more civil and practical to an everyday act of faith. Through radical hospitality, the Christian bears witness to their faith and acknowledges God’s presence in this world as primarily encountered through people.
But what does the call to radical hospitality mean for the everyday college student? I doubt most college students have to open their dorms to strangers, unless a friend or a sibling come to visit, but even this is not a frequent practice. Returning to Odysseus, there is a twofold crux to the act of hospitality Alcinous offers: plentiful food and material goods in exchange for Odyssey’s story. To me, that sounds an awful lot like both the Eucharist and friendship.
In the Eucharist, the sharing of a meal and recounting of Jesus’ life, radical hospitality transforms the community into the Body of Christ. I find this truth most evident when we use the word host for the physical Eucharist. What a funny coincidence! This makes the Christian believer the guest. In this way, the primary sign of radical hospitality in the Eucharist is on God’s part, and we properly receive it by laying bare our entire lives as we approach God’s table.
In the sacred, collective offering of our lives to God, the community becomes the Body of Christ. This becoming enables the Church to continue God’s work of radical hospitality to the world. The Church extends the invitation to know Christ in a tangible way—either through the physical wafer or the laying on of hands—to all who are yearning, and the believer continues this invitation in Christian friendship.
By acknowledging the face of Christ in our neighbor, true Christian friendship extends God’s radical hospitality into the world. Through their experience of God’s hospitality, the Christian believer moves through the world as a host, stocked with spiritual food for the guests they meet.
As college students, most of the guests we encounter are friends, and what is friendship other than this reciprocal sharing of one’s life, experience, and soul with the other? In this exchange of stories, the believer recalls their own status before God as they receive their friend as a guest.
I think this presents one of the most challenging things about Christian friendship. What does it mean to receive another person as a guest, if the other person does not respond your gift of self with the same deep intentionality? Practically speaking, it’s hard to be consistently, radically hospitable if this act is not always reciprocated, so what’s the solution?
Truthfully, I don’t know, but some solace can be found in recognizing the limitations of our humanity. Lean on God to do the ultimate heavy lifting of continuing what your friendship started. Recognize that it’s important to keep your cup full through life-giving spiritual and personal practices. Ultimately, the Christian call to radical hospitality isn’t to dump your entire host-cup on one person, but to offer guests a sip to taste on their journey towards God’s overflowing cup.
Noella D’Souza is a senior studying Chemistry with a minor in Medical Humanities. She’s is deeply devoted to BC Full Swing, Hillside Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, puns, and the Oxford Comma, in that order.
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