Knocking at Haven's Door

Knocking at Haven's Gate describes four paradigms of hospitality in Scripture and Tradition. In our time, hospitality often seems to be a mere decoration, but historically it has been a value comparable to justice and truth. So recovering some sense of what our forebears thought about it matters.The book explores five questions.First, and most important: when Jesus spoke of "strangers," what did that word mean? Welcome them, he said, and you will be welcomed into the kingdom of God; or don't, and depart into regions of fire. That's pretty clear, but what's a "stranger"? A homeless man? Whoever knocks? An immigrant? The answer to what Jesus meant when he spoke of strangers must be in the culture in which he spoke - in the Old Testament.A: The teaching about strangers in the Old Testament is clear, forceful, and abundant. A stranger is whatever the Jews were when they were in Egypt. The word includes immigrants.Second, if the teaching about welcoming strangers is clear, forceful, and abundant in the Old Testament, it must show up in the New Testament as well. If not, I was projecting my own ideas into Scripture. So: is it there?A: The teaching about hospitality is indeed all over the New Testament. But much of it depends on a familiarity with the teaching in the Old Testament. For example, the Last Supper was foreshadowed by the First Feast, Abraham's hospitality to celestial strangers at Mamre.Third, if the teaching about hospitality is all over Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, it must be reflected in the life and teaching of the Church. If not, I was cherry-picking. So: is it there too?A: Hospitality is indeed a central value in the life and teaching of the Church. The Fathers taught about it at length, drawing on the Old and New Testament. But there's a fascinating shift in the general pattern of offering hospitality: while the Old Testament pattern was national and the New Testament pattern was personal, the pattern in the Church was ecclesial. Monks and nuns offered hospitality to strangers on behalf of the entire community.Fourth, if the teaching and practice of hospitality to strangers was so clear in Scripture and prominent in the life of the Church, why is it so minor - sometimes reduced to the level of mere decoration - in our lives today?A: The practice of hospitality for most of Christian history depended on monks. When monasteries were dispersed or suppressed, no one else stepped forward to fill the huge gap. Also, the teaching of Jesus about welcoming strangers (Matthew 25) was eclipsed by a popular teaching tool, the corporal works of mercy, which watered down the words of Jesus.Fifth, what's happening with hospitality now? Can we help 65 million people?A: Today, Pope Francis asks the Church to respond to the plight of refugees and migrants and other displaced persons - totaling about 65 million people on the road. Because of the near-eclipse that lasted for generations, many Christians are ignorant of Church history regarding hospitality, and reach back to a few scraps of the Lord's teaching. They are not confident that the Lord's words about welcoming strangers means that we must take care of 65 million foreigners. How about a homeless guy instead? The gap between the Pope's intent and the laity's response is deep and wide. To close the gap and energize the Church, we need a clear understanding of the teaching in Scripture and Tradition - and of the great eclipse that we must overcome.The book includes an addendum exploring the views of Thomas Aquinas on hospitality. Some opponents of immigration have set up Aquinas as a kind of alternative magisterium, rejecting the teaching of the Catholic Church in our time. But in fact, Aquinas's views are nuanced, and it's an error to quote one passage out of context to make him seem anti-immigrant.