Welcoming Christ by Welcoming Others

Last updated on: June 25, 2026 at 11:49 am by Rob Giannamore

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Welcoming Christ by Welcoming Others 2026-06-25T11:49:10-04:00 Rob Giannamore

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A reflection on Mathew 10:40-42

As we prepare to celebrate America’s 250th birthday next weekend, I cannot help but hear the witness of Matthew 10:40–42 calling us to examine the spirit of our welcome. This nation has long struggled to live fully into its promises of equality, dignity, and belonging. And now, in an age when every action is seen, shared, and remembered, the world can plainly see whether our shores extend welcome or warning. For Jesus, hospitality is never merely politeness; it is a holy measure of our faithfulness. To welcome the stranger, the prophet, the righteous one, and the little one is to welcome Christ Himself. In Matthew’s witness, hospitality is not optional kindness; it is evidence of godliness. In this post, I want to explore hospitality as a spiritual discipline.

Genesis and Abraham’s Gift

Genesis 18:1–10 tells the story of the Lord appearing to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre. But rather than coming with thunder or fire, God shows up in the form of three travelers—ordinary, embodied visitors who stand nearby, receive food, and speak a quiet but life-changing promise. What seems like a simple gesture of welcome becomes so much more for Abraham and the overall history of what becomes the Abrahamic tradition.

Hospitality was crucial for the early Hebrew people as the desert or the wilderness lands they inhabited were hostile environments and it is hospitality that helped weary travelers in these lands to survive and make it to their next destination.

But for Abraham, his gesture is more than hospitality based on certainty or obligation. For Abraham, it becomes a radical act of openness, exposure, and mutual vulnerability. Abraham risks comfort, security, and social boundaries to receive the unknown other—and it is precisely this vulnerability that becomes the space for divine encounter. Faith, in this light, is not the possession of clarity, but the courage to remain open to what exceeds our comprehension.

Hospitality as a Spiritual Discipline

I will always be drawn to Benedict when it comes to considering hospitality. The Rule of St. Benedict tells us in Chapter 66 about the role of the Porter, a monk or sister who has been assigned to welcome guests. Specifically, the rule offers these thoughts:

“A wise old monk should be stationed at the gate of the monastery. He should know how to listen to people and also how to speak to them.” The final specified role of the community is the Porter. Rather than focusing on the age suggested by this translation, consider the qualities of this important person. The Porter is the face of the community, the first person to greet visitors. The first person to see welcome guests as Christ. Perhaps of all roles in the community, the Porter represents the quintessential spirit of the entire community.

As a spiritual discipline, we are all called to become porters of our communities—standing at the threshold with open eyes, listening hearts, and a readiness to receive Christ in the one who comes to us. In a world fractured by division, fear, and self-protection—and in an America that too often misrepresents the hospitality of Jesus—the role of the porter is not quaint or optional. It is urgent. To practice holy welcome is to resist the spirit of exclusion and to bear witness to the kingdom of God.

Bowing to the Christ Presence in All

Just like Abraham welcoming the messengers of God and receiving a blessing, we too must welcome strangers with the same enthusiasm. We all hold within all of the potential to be seats of Christ and as such all hold a small presence of the divine within us. Genesis also points out our goodness. Finally, for Jesus, no one was turned away from his table. When we learn to see the Christ presence in all, we begin to display a spiritual maturity that reflects the elder qualities of the porter.

The Rule’s description of the Porter paints a picture of mature Christian character: a life marked by promptness born of love, openness rooted in trust rather than fear, and a warmth that quietly radiates God’s presence. Such a person lives with deep gratitude, seeing even the hard parts of life as held within God’s transforming love. From this inner posture flows genuine welcome—an ease of presence that treats each moment and each person as worthy of attention. Over time, this becomes a gentleness shaped by non‑violence and compassion, and a reverence that stands in awe before God and the world. Benedict’s Porter becomes an icon of the kind of person we are all invited to become: steady, tender, grateful, and awake to the holy in every encounter.

To close

I want to close my thoughts with spiritual ponderings. Is it at the threshold that Mathew, Abraham and Benedict meet us? All of these individuals remind us that welcome is not a small thing. It is one of the ways we reveal what kind of people we are becoming. In a nation still struggling to live into its promises, and in communities too often shaped by fear, we are called to become porters of holy welcome. We are called to see Christ in the stranger, the prophet, the righteous one, and the little one. And if we are willing to stand at the gate with listening hearts and open hands, then maybe our hospitality can become more than kindness. Maybe it can become a witness to the God who still shows up among us, asking to be received.

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