GLOBAL COOPERATION AS HOSPITALITY:
DRAWING FROM HENRY NOUWEN’S CONCEPT OF HOSPITALITY

Chong H. Kim

In the 15th century, Christopher Columbus brought a strange looking fruit back to Europe from the island of Guadeloupe. The new fruit looked like an armored pinecone that covered a firm pulp, similar to an apple. The English appropriately named this new fruit, pineapple. In the Caribbean islands, the pineapple was a symbol of hospitality. The Spanish explorers knew if a pineapple was placed at the entrance of a village, it meant they were welcomed. Today the symbol of pineapple is a global expression of welcome and hospitality. In front of our house back in the U.S., we used to have a welcome mat that had a big imprint of a pineapple!

What is the relationship between hospitality and global cooperation of which we should be mindful? I would like to propose that we approach global cooperation as hospitality--primarily in spirit and in its implied practice.[1] I believe there are some significant connections between hospitality and how we can advance further in global cooperation.

Previous as well as most of current practices in approaching “strategic” missions partnerships or cooperation have mainly been business like, imported from the business world. While there is much we can learn from such an approach, I propose that we look at global cooperation from the angle of hospitality, which is more organic and natural. It is organic and natural in that the spirit of hospitality is not only about what we do when we get together in meetings but also attempts to address how we live day to day in interaction with others and other cultures. In short, it is about the lost art of genuine spirituality that is hospitality. Henry Nouwen captures this well, “The term hospitality, therefore, should not be limited to its literal sense of receiving a stranger in our house - although it is important never to forget or neglect that! - but as a fundamental attitude toward our fellow human being, which can be expressed in a great variety of ways” (1975:67). In the long run, what is organic and natural may prove to be more strategic.

Hospitality is nothing new. It is a supra cultural practice that is universal in nature.[2] The ability to practice hospitality makes a human being a human being. Hospitality allows us to connect with people and to find our dignity and worth as human beings. Ample biblical stories and examples of hospitality are found in the Old Testament to the New Testament. Again, here is Nouwen, “It is one of the richest biblical terms that can deepen and broaden our insight in our relationships to our fellow human beings.” (1975:66)

The word hospitality derives from the Latin hospes, which is formed from hostis, which originally meant, “to have power”. The word, hospital, comes from the same root word which means a place of shelter and rest for travelers. The practice of sharing tea, humble yet rich, is an expression of providing hospitality to weary travelers and sharing a piece of home. From the ancient Chinese to Indian to Classical to Celtic to the Middle Ages to the less civilized to the modern to “southern hospitality” (that is in U.S.), hospitality brings decency and dignity of being human beings. Hospitality is more than the combination of words like soft, warm, sweet, kind, cozy, and perhaps even boring. It is a forgotten spirituality, and it is a critical basis for global cooperation and partnership.

In the end, hospitality is an expression of love toward our neighbors. We can express love, because God first loved us and welcomed us. The Message translation of the Romans 15:7 reads, “So reach out and welcome one another to God's glory. Jesus did it; now you do it!” Thus, the idea of providing and receiving hospitality is simply an act of obedience to the Great Commandment.

Hospitality is connecting with others. I am tempted to use a phrase like “true hospitality” simply because we have seen “bad”, manipulative, or distorted kinds of hospitality. But I will stick to the simple usage of hospitality, trusting that this is the “true” kind. At the most foundational level, connecting with other human beings is what makes hospitality hospitality. This can happen through sharing food, time, and home. Table fellowship is something we take for granted in the west, generally speaking. However, it is such an intimate act of fellowship elsewhere. All cultures represented in the Bible took this table fellowship very seriously. The early church described in the Book of Acts centered around table fellowships in real life contexts. Communion was sharing real meals. And this was important enough that Apostle Paul made a fair share of warnings and exhortations as to what not to do and what to do in sharing real meals.

As much as hospitality is about sharing food, time, and home, it is also about opening the heart and connecting at that level. This is evident in the Japanese tea ceremony:

When we as hosts intentionally shift our focus from self to other with no pretense, control, and hidden agenda, our guests see “the free and magnanimous heart” of the host and, as a result, hearts open up and connect in ways that are well beyond superficiality. When hearts open and connect this deeply, hospitality brings out restoration on both the hosts as well as the guests.

That leads to an observation that hospitality creates freedom. One expression and application of this freedom in hospitality is letting our guests to discover and to remain as who they are. They don’t have to be like us. In light of this, modern missions movement generally has not fared well, from overt expectation on others to be like us to subtle pressures to accept our ways of believing and doing things. To help us unpack this idea, here is Nouwen again:

Nouwen’s observation above drips with missiological insights. For one, listen to him when he says, “it is not a method of making our God and our way into the criteria of happiness, but the opening of an opportunity to others to find their God and their way.” This resembles what Jesus said as in the Great Commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.” We all have tried to force, either subtly or overtly, our God and our way to others, thinking and believing that our way is the right way. If we can realize that “hospitality is not a subtle invitation to adopt the life style of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guest to find his own” whoever the “host” may be, I believe we can go a long way in developing and maintaining a biblical expression of what global cooperation may look like as it relates to hospitality. Hospitality is not to change people or to woo them to our “camp.” It is simply to offer space and room where change may take place. Furthermore, it may be that we may not like the change, if that takes place at all. Will we be patient enough to allow our guests to discover their own?

Let me stretch a bit further. I believe hospitality is a strong basis for creating and cultivating unity in community and in global cooperation. Nouwen says,

Realizing the fact that we are all hosts and guests is a good place to start as we all seek “the formation of a re-creative community.” One is not host all the time. And one is not guest all the time. Hospitality is an antidote for “a world so visibly suffering for alienation and estrangement.” We all need to embrace the fact that God welcomed us first and it is our duty to welcome others and provide hospitality that imitates and honors Jesus.(AFMI)

Endnotes

[1] At the end of my presentation, I would like to receive input and feedback as to what some practical applications might be or whether the concept of hospitality in the context of global cooperation is worth pursuing.

[2] Various cultures may have different motivating factors, from honor, shame, reciprocity, and even guilt. Whatever the motivation might be, the practice of hospitality is ubiquitous and generally considered very important.

References

Fellman, Donna & Tizer, Lhasha, 2005. Tea Here Now; Relax and Rejuvenate with a Tea Lifestyle?Rituals, Remedies, and Meditations. Maui: Inner Ocean Publishing Inc.

Nouwen, Henry, 1975. Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life. New York: Doubleday.