Chapter 56 of
The Rule of St. Benedict is very short but it picks up and continues the theme of hospitality from Chapter 53. Only three verses long Chapter 56--"The Abbot's Table"--starts off with the directive:
1The abbot's table must always be with guests and travelers.
Basically, the leaders of our faith communities must be practitioners and exemplars of hospitality. I'm reminded here of Paul's directives in appointing leaders in the churches he planted. One of their qualifications? Hospitality.
1 Timothy 3.1-2
Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable...
I wonder how often churches make hospitality a key criterion in identifying, selecting and appointing their leaders?
