January 22, 2026
The Paradox of Hospitality
It is indeed the paradox of hospitality that poverty makes a good host. Poverty is the inner disposition that allows us to take away our defences and convert our enemies into friends. We can only perceive the stranger as an enemy as long as we have something to defend. But when we say, “Please enter - my house is your house, my joy is your joy, my sadness is your sadness and my life is your life,” we have nothing to defend, since we have nothing to lose, but all to give.
“For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”
- 2 Corinthians 8: 9
Reflection Question: What do you feel an inner nudge to let go of?
