Hospitality - 3: St. Benedict and Hospitality

The Rule of Saint Benedict states,

Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for he is going to say "I came as a guest, and you received me.

I call this the providential assumption - the assumption that anyone God brought to the monastery was Christ and needed to be treated as Christ should be treated. Adapted to everyday life the providential assumption is that everyone that God has brought and brings into my life is to be treated like Christ. This assumption is the key to practicing hospitality.

Think about it. What would it like to:
-Treat my co-workers as though they were Christ?
-Treat my neighbors as though they were Christ?
-Treat my family - spouse, children, relatives - as though they were Christ?
-Treat the guy at the convenience store as though he were Christ?
-Treat my server at the local restaurant as though she were Christ?

This is the heartbeat of hospitality. If many of us who name the name of Christ would do this daily it would start a revolution!