On Hospitality

I am reading Introducing African Women's Theology, by a Ghanian woman named Mercy Amba Obuyoye. Here are a few excerpts from chapter seven, "Hospitality and Spirituality." I find her words extremely enlightening, because they reverberate deep truths regarding Jesus, the Gospel, the human condition, and the socio-economic reality of today's world.


"The argument will be that our baptism into Christ compels us to see a new humanity, free and tuned into mutual sharing of gifts and a sustaining community."

"...without women's tenderness and hospitality, security at home would be impossible, for as [Ebenye Mbondo] claims, 'The other sex is not so committed to such things'. Mbondo glorifies women's role in the home as those who make 'life more poetic', but admits that paradoxically, they are also the ones who are the object of violence and intimidation. So she does introduce the element of the exploitation of hospitality."

"In the turmoil of Africa, refugees are received in the 'modern' camps for the masses, but the small groups that arribe meld into the local population, especially if they have the same language. Homes are still open to refugees. Some are given land to build and even decide to stay on when the crisis that drove them out is overcome. It is when the scale becomes overwhelming that camps become inevitable. So then what we are dealing with is the inevitable modification of cultural practices to respond to the exigencies of the changing times and circumstances."

"Thus hospitality is given a religious meaning, and linked with the ancestors, Christ and God. It is seen as inherent in being African, as well as in adhering to a religion that derives from the Bible. Mary, they say, played host to God and became 'Theotokos', mother of God. Thus Christian women are linked in a special way to hospitality."

"Nevertheless this ideal of women is not asserted naively. Lwamba describes how rich women pass by poor women with babies in arms without so much as throwing a glance, while poor women would often give. ... The women also observe that people in power are often heartless, and so cannot be hospitable. They enrich themselves without thought for the poor."

"Hospitality is linked with economy. Hospitality can establish lasting friendships and alliances, where there is reciprocity. ... We are aware that providing hospitality can be risky, but then, did God not take a risk to hand over this beautiful earth to human beings? There are multifarious aspects of hospitality that call for examination; in this chapter we limit ourselves to the relaiton between hospitality and parasitism, hospitality and sexuality, and gather the thoughts together under hospitality as a lifestyle. We do all this in the context of how the word is understood and practiced in Africa."

"...Africans are unanimous that hospitality is a fundamental African value. ... But hospitality, in the African tradition, only hopes for reciprocity should the need arise. ... Life is our most valuable asset, so preserving life and prolonging life is a way of life in Africa. The parados is that this makes us vulnerable. Hospitality is built on reciprocity, openness and acceptance, but to open one's self to the other is always a risk. ... But the guest is always expected to leave a blessing behind."

"'Openness and acceptance of the other remains a positive quality in Africa. Hospitality,' says Rose-Zoe Obianga, 'offers opportunity for friendship and is a force for renewal. Mary and Joseph received the Christ-child and the world was never the same again. Africans welcomed Europeans and European values, but the element of reciprocity was mnissing.'"

"As with the instructions given in The Didache, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania linked hospitality with work and economic productivity: 'Treat your guests as guests for two days, and on the third day, give them hoes.' That is, put them to work doing whatever you do to sustain your hospitality. Hospitality demands that we teach not only life-skills but also specifically economic skills in order to prevent dependence and parasitism."

"The parallels and examples from the Bible are many but the basic theme of women is that God's hospitality to us, our claim to being in the image of God, points us to the practice of love as God's love is in us. Therefore, Obianga concludes that in our days African Christians do not exercise hospitality solely because it is a fundamental virtue of our African traditional society, but also and, above all, because it is derived from our faith in Jesus who for is the way, the truth and the life."