INNS OF HOSPITALITY AND TABLES OF BOUNTIFUL BLESSING

Saint John Chrysostom uses two images, the inn and the bountiful table, to describe our experience as members of the church. First, he describes two kinds of inns. The first inn is our lot before baptism. The second inn is the post-baptismal place called church. Before baptism we are like visitors at a dangerous inn. The door hangs loosely upon its hinges. Other inhabitants threaten to rob, molest or harm us. We get little or no rest because the place is chaotic and noisy. Finally, people at table are rude and selfish. We'll go hungry unless we are aggressive. The table barren, in contrast, the second inn, the church, is where we find ourselves after baptism. This inn is a place of hospitality and safety. The doors opens easily and leads us to people who are gracious, kind, and generous. We find order and peace. We share bountiful gifts at the table. In fact, the table groans under the weight of such abundant blessing.

I find a real warmth and richness in the image of church as an inn of hospitality. This beats images which portray the church as stern disciplinarian or adamant monitor of behavior. Inns of hospitality have fine hearths and wonderful fireplaces. God is present as One who waits on table, who washes tired and sore feet, who embraces beloved friends. Indeed, inns of hospitality are places where there is peace and concord, mercy and compassion. The image conveys reverence--the reverence God has for us, wondrous creation, and the reverence we have for God and one another. The way we receive communion manifests reverence. Our eyes meet the eyes of the one ministering eucharistic bread. We make our hands into a throne to receive the eucharistic food. We reverently take this mystical bread, speak Amen, and place it in our mouths. We do not rush or hurry this reverent action of taking, speaking Amen, and eating. We savor the vivifying bread of life. Likewise, our eyes meet the eyes of the one ministering eucharistic cup. We reverently take this holy cup, speak Amen, bring it to our lips, and drink. We do not rush or hurry this reverent action of taking, speaking Amen, and drinking. We enjoy the cup which inebriates our spirit with joy. We do not do this in isolation. Communion is not solipsism. The same eucharistic elements are available to all. Hospitality, like Catholicism, means here comes everybody. And everybody gets knit together into community. This surely beats images of privatized piety which excludes the body of Christ, our sisters and brothers.

And the table groans under the weight of bountiful blessing. This surely beats images of barren, meager, and empty tables. As we receive such wondrous blessing, we are called to extend bountiful blessing to others. This requires that we attend to the world's hungers and that we thirst for justice and friendship, and for mercy and compassion. Just as the miracles of loaves and fishes show us how God provides enough for the crowds, so also eucharistic communion challenges us to be cordial toward the least, the last, and the left out.

These two images, the inn and the bountiful table, are images which enrich our religious imagination, promote diverse ministries, and encourage hope for large and small communities. These images are foretaste and promise of the heavenly inn and the eternal banquet.