Hospitality—The Sacred Art

Nanette Sawyer

Description

Learn how this ancient spiritual practice can transform
your relationship with yourself, with others and with God.

“The practice of deep hospitality can help us step into a more vital, vibrant embrace of this great adventure we call life—which includes our relationship with God, however you might define God. . . . It is an invitation to walk through life with a liberating posture of receptivity, reverence, and generosity.”
—from the Introduction

We may think of hospitality as merely being polite to guests, but the ancients understood the profound potential hospitality holds for building and transforming lasting relationships—for binding families together, making strangers into friends, even turning enemies into neighbors.

This practical book provides you with the tools you need to cultivate the spiritual power of invitation and welcome in your life. Guided by Rev. Nanette Sawyer, you will discover the qualities of hospitality—receptivity, reverence, and generosity—and how these qualities can significantly deepen your self-understanding as well as your relationships with others and with God. Drawing from sacred texts and spiritual practitioners from all faiths, this book also addresses the major stumbling blocks that prevent you from becoming truly hospitable.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Spirituality
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 22 janvier 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781594734076
• Langue: English

Extrait

Hospitality-The Sacred Art
Discovering the Hidden Spiritual Power of Invitation and Welcome
2007 First Printing
2007 by Nanette Sawyer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information regarding permission to reprint material from this book, please mail or fax your request in writing to SkyLight Paths Publishing, Permissions Department, at the address / fax number listed below, or e-mail your request to [e-mail] .
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sawyer, Nanette.
Hospitality, the sacred art : discovering the hidden spiritual power of invitation and welcome / by Nanette Sawyer.
p. cm.-(The art of spiritual living)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59473-228-7 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 1-59473-228-0 (pbk.)
1. Hospitality. 2. Generosity. 3. Hospitality-Religious aspects. 4. Generosity-Religious aspects. 5. Spiritual life. I. Title.
BJ2021.S29 2007
241'.671-dc22
2007037104
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

SkyLight Paths Publishing is creating a place where people of different spiritual traditions come together for challenge and inspiration, a place where we can help each other understand the mystery that lies at the heart of our existence.
SkyLight Paths sees both believers and seekers as a community that increasingly transcends traditional boundaries of religion and denomination-people wanting to learn from each other, walking together, finding the way.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cover design: Jenny Buono
SkyLight Paths, Walking Together, Finding the Way, and colophon are trademarks of LongHill Partners, Inc., registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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Published by SkyLight Paths Publishing
A Division of LongHill Partners, Inc.
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A LSO A VAILABLE IN THE A RT OF S PIRITUAL L IVING S ERIES
Running-The Sacred Art:
Preparing to Practice
by Dr. Warren A. Kay
Foreword by Kristin Armstrong
Giving-The Sacred Art:
Creating a Lifestyle of Generosity
by Lauren Tyler Wright
Thanking and Blessing-The Sacred Art:
Spiritual Vitality through Gratefulness
by Jay Marshall, PhD
Foreword by Philip Gulley
Everyday Herbs in Spiritual Life:
A Guide to Many Practices
written and illustrated by Michael J. Caduto
The Sacred Art of Fasting:
Preparing to Practice
by Thomas Ryan, CSP
The Sacred Art of Bowing:
Preparing to Practice
by Andi Young
The Sacred Art of Chant:
Preparing to Practice
by Ana Hern ndez
The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness:
Preparing to Practice
by Rabbi Rami Shapiro
Foreword by Marcia Ford
This book is dedicated to
my mother and father,
who invited, welcomed, and nurtured me
into this world;
and
to you, the reader.
I wrote it for you.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction: Hospitality as Transformation
1 Hospitality to God: Welcoming God s Welcome
2 Hospitality to Self: Inviting the Authentic Self
3 Hospitality to Family: Offering Full Presence to Those Closest to Us
4 Hospitality to Neighbors: Becoming the Merciful Neighbor
5 Hospitality to Strangers: Pursuing Kinship Rather than Estrangement
6 Hospitality to Enemies: Extending Generosity through Non-Retaliation
7 Hospitality to Creation: Knowing Creation Relationally
Acknowledgments
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index of Exercises and Practices

About SkyLight Paths
Copyright
FOREWORD
by Rev. Dirk Ficca
T he act of hospitality-of welcoming the other, whoever the other is-is an imperative in many of the world s religious and spiritual traditions, in part because it can be a burden as well as a blessing, as Kathleen Norris observes in her book Dakota: A Spiritual Geography :

Saint Benedict, writing in the sixth century, notes that a monastery is never without guests, and admonishes monks to receive all guests as Christ. Monks have been quick to recognize that such hospitality, while undoubtedly a blessing, can also create burdens for them. A story said to originate in a Russian Orthodox monastery has an older monk telling a younger one: I have finally learned to accept people as they are. Whatever they are in the world, a prostitute, a prime minister, it is all the same to me. But sometimes I see a stranger coming up the road and I say, Oh, Jesus Christ, is it you again? 1
While extolling the spiritual virtues and personal benefits of a lifestyle of hospitality, Nanette Sawyer does not offer the typical platitudes and quick-fix promises that characterize so much of marketplace spirituality these days. In her generous and challenging exploration of the sacred art of hospitality, Sawyer squarely faces the reality that intentional hospitality is ultimately a matter of practice that calls for radical openness, self-discipline, and a willingness to be changed by an encounter with the other, be it a member of your family, your next door neighbor, a stranger, an enemy, the Earth, or God. Such challenges are why, perhaps, hospitality must at times be framed as an imperative. In her view, the practice of hospitality is religion and spirituality at their most sacred, and as demanding as any form of true art.
That hospitality is central to traditions as diverse as Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam, to name a few, might come as a surprise to many who view religion as a principal source of misunderstanding, fanaticism, hatred, and conflict. All of these traditions have been historically, and are being currently, interpreted in ways that urge and guide their respective followers to be indifferently or aggressively inhospitable to each other. In a post-September 11th world, driven by the forces of globalization and religious identity, where communities of often starkly different languages, cultures, and traditions are now living side by side in major urban centers, the stakes have never been higher for a different reading of these traditions, with hospitality as the guiding principle. Hospitality as a defining mark of identity for individuals, communities, and cultures is a necessity if the world is going to come to grips with diversity in sane and life-affirming ways.
In making her case, Sawyer both describes and models what she is proposing about the practice of hospitality. She writes as a Christian, but draws on the wisdom and experience of a variety of perspectives in creative ways that will be helpful to a broad spectrum of inquirers, from those committed to a particular tradition to those who might call themselves seekers. Her central concepts of receptivity , reverence , and generosity are easy to grasp and yet profoundly useful for plumbing the depths of what she calls transformative spiritual hospitality. And she has firsthand experience in the practice, both on the receiving and giving ends. Stories from her own life, and from the lives of others, illuminate the processes, the pitfalls, and the practical dimensions of this sacred art.
In the end, it is this practicality, the groundedness, of her approach that I appreciate the most. While there is rock-solid scholarship and a carefully reasoned foundation to her rationale, Sawyer has been true to the notion that hospitality is finally not a philosophical stance or a theological concept but a matter of practice that must be lived out. I remember hearing a story about the renowned Catholic theologian Karl Rahner-who was German and whose writings no one would call highly accessible-sitting beside a podium as someone read his lecture to the audience in English, and praying the rosary. Apparently no matter how complex or lofty his thoughts, for Rahner they were not to be confused with, or a substitute for, spiritual practice, for the actual living out of his convictions.
As an innovative pastor and pioneer in forging a new path to authentic spirituality in a religiously diverse world, Sawyer has provided us with a multitude of ways to engage in the practice of hospitality, from prayer and meditation to conversation, friendship, and service. There are descriptions and exercises to be done to initiate or enhance your own practice. Questions to ponder that will lead to further reading and new experiences. Advice on how to engage with intentional communities of faith and action. Work to be done that will improve the world.
Sawyer trusts the practice of hospitality. She trusts that as people embark on the practice it will teach and guide and transform them in ways that she doesn t feel the need to program or predict. If you are freely persuaded, then you will embark on the journey. If you undertake the journey with a commitment to see it through, you will be changed. If hospitality grows as an imperative for religious and spiritual communities, there will be new hope for the world. Sawyer invites you to give it a try, see where it takes you. She offers insights and encouragement as a companion for your journey. What could be more hospitable than that?
INTRODUCTION:
HOSPITALITY AS TRANSFORMATION
T his book is about transformation through the spiritual practice of deep hospitality. Becoming a person of hospitality will both center you and open you up; it will help you know yourself better, as well as perceive the richness of creation more fully. I call this kind of hospitality deep because it comes from our inner core and has the capacity to significantly change our self-understanding as well as the quality of all our relationships. This capacity for change is why I also call it transformative spiritual hospitality. It is centered in our understanding about who we are and how we are related to that which is holy.
Transformative spiritua