My first experience of Asian hospitality was in December, 1971.  I had just arrived in Darjeeling, and was enjoying a walk through a village.  A family immediately called me into their house, and quickly prepared a traditional snack of tea and a fried egg.  Although I could hardly communicate with them, they recognized me as a “Father” from St. Joseph’s College.  They had benefitted from Jesuit education and so happily welcomed me. 

Since then I have enjoyed welcomes time and again, and hopefully I have been able to rise to the challenge those welcomes bring, the challenge to correctly bring the Jesus’ Good News to the people I meet.  I do not come with any special curriculum, but try to come as a fellow pilgrim, accepting the fact that we are all moving together towards heaven.  I have no head start on others but I have been blessed with supportive parents, a good education, and years of community life.  Hopefully I can bring these gifts to others. 

Over the years, few of my students have been Christian, but insofar as I have been able to recognize them as people working their way towards heaven with me, have I been able to provide them useful service.  When we meet, we don’t talk about the courses we worked through, though we might laugh at enjoyable times in class, in the laboratory, on the playing field, or on back breaking treks into the mountains.  Rather, we remember that we enjoyed one another’s company.  None of us, student or teacher, was a perfect person, but we wanted the best for one another and so went out of our way to support one another.  Our mutual service, theirs as students more or less following the school rules, and mine as a teacher trying my best to make classes useful and interesting, has built bonds between us.

Asia has taught me to be a little more hospitable.  I grew up in a Canadian “private property” culture.  That is not a bad, but more and more I realize that the goods of the world are for everyone.  I’m not about to give everything away, but Asians have taught me to appropriately share what I have.  Often this is merely a listening ear, a kind look, or an encouraging word.  Sometimes the commitment is more demanding.  I am trying to help young Jesuits grow as they work their way through college studies and grow in understanding God’s love for them.  They have generously said “yes” to God’s call and need encouragement as they daily live out that generous offering.  So we share what we have, both within our Jesuit community and with our neighbours and visitors. 

I challenge both myself and these young men to take the first step.  That might be a smile, or an offer of help.  It might be a visit, or an offer of longer service.  Widows come to collect monthly support generous benefactors have provided.  Villagers welcome us when we travel most of a day to offer Mass and explain the faith before we return home the following day.  Sometimes the work is demanding, but the award is great, the reward of knowing that we are walking together towards heaven, a heaven beginning on earth.

Therefore I carry on serving the people God has placed with me, hoping and praying that I recognize them all as people I love and therefore serve as best I can.  My commitment to each person is different, but I try to ask myself, “How would Jesus respond in this situation?”  The answer is usually obvious and I try to then follow up on that answer.  The first step is to learn the lesson those villagers of Darjeeling taught me over forty years ago:  welcome everyone who comes to my door!  May we enjoy this summer vacation season doing the same!