The Rule of St Benedict not only governed the lives of the monks in the medieval monastery but also influences our life in the Cathedral today. Benedict was keen to welcome the visitor, or stranger, to his monastery as though that person were Christ himself. Hospitality – being open and welcoming – is an essential part of the Cathedral’s ministry today.
We read in the Gospels that Jesus always sought to be hospitable, to welcome the stranger, the outcast and the unloved in his midst, and to minister to them. And he often received hospitality from what the Bible calls “publicans and sinners”. Certainly the religious establishment of the time was not impressed with Jesus eating with people they wanted to designate as sinners. It was an inclusive community that Jesus sought to create around him. According to Jesus’ teaching, God’s love knows no boundaries and none of the barriers that we humans want to create. Yet constantly, in almost every generation, groups of people want to affirm their identity by excluding others, by making the point of being different or special. The sin of not seeing the face of Christ in our brother or sister, whatever their origins or background, continues to plague and damage human and international relationships. We are diminished as sons and daughters of God by our inability to overcome our smallmindedness and our sense of insecurity.
Our recent visitors from Novi Sad told us of the work that the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organisation is doing among the Roma community. This is a community made up of people who in the UK, are often called gipsies and, in recent years, they have been forced to move from certain countries in Europe. They have had to re-settle in places where they are treated harshly and despised. The project in Novi Sad seeks not only to improve their living conditions but also help them integrate into the local community so that they receive the education and health services to which they are entitled. We assume, perhaps too easily, that we live on a continent that respects all human beings whatever their background, and gives all people the same basic rights. Unfortunately that is not true, even in Europe, and, in other parts of the world, this lack of rights and respect is an even greater evil.
So, by seeking to follow St Benedict’s Rule on hospitality to all who visit the Cathedral, perhaps this is the way in which we can contribute, in an increasingly divided world, to a renewed understanding of the equality of all people before God.
We are grateful to all our Welcomers who receive our visitors and see in them the face of Christ. Many of our volunteer Welcomers are retired and an increasing number are members of their own parish church. There is also a rising number of younger people who volunteer for a variety of reasons – it may help them find employment or give them confidence in their own abilities before developing their career. If you are a Cathedral regular but do not know the Welcomer, when you enter the Cathedral, please introduce yourself and be the face of Christ to them as they are to you. They have a more varied role now in the Hostry where they welcome people not just to the Cathedral but also to conferences, exhibitions and meetings. We have high expectations of them and they should have all our support. Hospitality that is generous and open is at the heart of the Christian faith and is rightly a cornerstone of the Cathedral’s ministry to our world. Richard Capper