Christ the Stranger
"Last Supper" by Fritz Eichenberg
Do not forget to welcome strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. (Hebrews 13:2)
One of the biggest impressions the Benedictines had upon me during my first two years of seminary formation was the importance of hospitality in the Christian life. I watched the example they gave in welcoming all as Christ and longed to be able to do the same. So it was that on the morning of my ordination eleven years ago that I prayed God would send into my life an abundance of strangers and that he would give me the grace to welcome them.
About a month later, I began my first assignment at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville. I remember clearly driving up the driveway of the rectory, parking my car, and being greeted by Fr. David Boettner who was leaving for his new assignment as a first time pastor. Fr. David handed me a set of keys, told me that he had finished packing everything and was on his way to his new parish. “There is a woman waiting for you in the office of the church who needs your help,” he added as he closed the door of his truck, ”She is in an abusive relationship and needs help getting a bus ticket quickly and quietly so that she can travel to a shelter out of state. Oh and the by the way, she only speaks Spanish. Good luck!” As I stood in the driveway watching the taillights of Fr. David’s truck get smaller as he drove away, I realized that God does indeed answer our prayers, especially if they are prayers for things he would most want us to ask. God has continued to answer my ordination prayer to send strangers in need of a welcome and in doing so he has continued to form me into a better priest than the one I was eleven years ago. Having this particular prayer answered has involved much more sacrifice and being stretched than I could have imagined at the time it was made, but it is a prayer I will never regret.
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