Intellectual Hospitality
Our friends and co-laborers at Octet Collaborative in Boston speak of extending "intellectual hospitality" in their conversations as they pursue "resonance", described by them as "the fullest integration of mind, hand, heart, and soul for each in community with others dedicated to human flourishing."
As someone who has promoted "gospel hospitality" for a couple of decades, the idea of "intellectual hospitality" caught my attention, ringing true both as descriptor and goal. What might such a thoughtful hospitality involve? Here is a list of my most recent thoughts.
Intellectual Hospitality encompasses:
the embrace of an "examined" life, which means staying alert to aspects of the world around us that beg for closer examination.
a "close reading" of texts (and situations), which is a more granular aspect of an examined life, a commitment to reading and re-reading attentively.
a holy curiosity and "sense of wonder" driven by the Christian virtues of fearlessness, gratitude and faithful expectation. God is at work in the world and we want to "stay in step" with his Spirit.
the stewardship of personal resources for the sake of others. All forms of hospitality involve tangible giving.
the full embrace of truth, goodness and beauty, and the refusal to separate the three. To be intellectually hospitable, we must accept on faith both the authorship and the integration of God's good creation.
thanksgiving for and affirmation of "life" in all of its forms, with mankind as uniquely "like God".
reverence for God's image displayed in our friends as well as our enemies. The showing of such reverence may very well be our best definition of "winning" in this life.
a commitment to the development of an "inner life" in order to embrace times of silence, boredom and even anxiety as opportunities for reflection and spiritual formation.
a highly valued and developed sense of humor, enabling us to see ourselves and others in "perspective".
an appreciation of the "fine arts" in their varied forms, receiving them as gifts from fellow explorers.
an appreciation of food as a gift of God for sustenance, creativity and fellowship.
an embrace of work as cultural participation and upbuilding.
the development of a truly physical "spirituality", otherwise known as a sacramental approach to life.
