Love in Action: Forgiveness and Hospitality

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer.  Many schools are already in session, and most colleges and universities begin the fall semester this week.  I will be teaching a course in Philosophy at Rhode Island College, and as I look forward to meeting a new class of students I am concerned about how little attention students pay to all that is happening in our state, the nation and the world.

Many students seem to ignore politics and government.  Instead they turn inward because there is more than enough to attend to in their own lives and among families and close friends.  What news they receive is mostly from twitter, tumbler, and Facebook.  Apart from photos and headlines what is happening throughout the world seems

overwhelming.

The same is true for religion.  A minority of students attend worship services in any religious tradition, and most of them do not know very much about their own family’s background, let alone the faith traditions of others.  Many students say they are spiritual but not religious.  For them religion means institutional authority which they find either objectionable or hypocritical.

What we learn by reading the Bible and by worshiping in the Christian community is a different way of viewing the world and  what it means to be religious.  Last Sunday, for example, our reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans discussed our spiritual worship and what it means to be “members one of another.”  In today’s reading Paul talks about genuine love.  He does not mean emotional or erotic love, or even filial or brotherly love.  The genuine love Paul discusses is about caring for others, it is about forgiveness and hospitality.  Paul continues to say we are to hate what is evil and hold fast to what is good.

This passage is like a code of Christian conduct.  We are familiar with codes of conduct; we have them in the military, and we have them in boy and girl scouts.  Schools and colleges have codes of conduct that promote honesty and scholarly inquiry.  Paul’s code of Christian conduct describes what love in action is like: have mutual affection, show honor, do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord, rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

While this list may be too abstract Paul continues by offering practical advice.  Contribute to the needs of the saints, extend hospitality to strangers, bless those who persecute you, do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought of what is noble in the sight of all.  His code of conduct concludes by stating, “Never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God.  if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink. Overcome evil with good.”

We know too well the evil deeds that abound in our communities and throughout the world.  The killing of innocent people, the absurd level of gun violence, the political and economic greed by the wealthiest corporations and governments at the expense of the poorest who are hungry and homeless, -- these are familiar to all of us.  When bad and evil things happen our leaders generally respond by calling for justice, by which they mean punishment for identified perpetrators.

Is this the way for showing love to our world?  If we demonstrate love to others as Christ acted in his life and ministry we would practice hospitality.  We would feed and clothe the hungry, nurture and educate children and adults, and practice forgiveness.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in a series produced by The Huffington Post states what he and Mpho Tutu elaborate in their book, The Book of Forgiveness: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World.  Here is an excerpt:

“The invitation to forgive is an invitation to find healing and peace. Forgiveness opens the door to peace between people and opens the space for peace within each person. The victim cannot have peace without forgiving.  The perpetrator will not have genuine peace while unforgiven. The invitation to forgive is an invitation to search out the perpetrator's humanity.  When we forgive we recognize the reality that there, but for the grace of God go I.

“We are called to forgive each other time and time again; it is the nature of being in a relationship. Yes, it can be very hard to forgive others, but often it can be harder still to forgive ourselves.

Bishop Tutu continues, “I invite you to look within your own heart, within your own family, and within your own community, and consider the relationships that are in need of a forgiving heart.  We each have the capacity to write a new story, and to experience the healing and freedom that comes when we let go of our grievances -- when we forgive.”

Both St. Paul and Bishop Tutu give us the kind of advice that, if practiced, would change the world.  It is the way that Christ lived and taught; it is the way of forgiveness.  By acting in this way we break the cycle of enmity and demonstrate the forgiveness of our Lord.

The hospitality we offer shifts the focus away from ourselves as we are hosts to the needs of those we seek to serve. We overcome evil not by responding in kind, but with the redeeming power of God’s love, a love that is forgiveness and hospitality.  Amen.