Wednesday, June 24, 2020

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2, New Revised Standard version)

Na-neun yagu-reul joahae.

This is how one says “I like baseball” in Korean. There are three ways. This is the informal one but there is a more formal version and finally a very formal version. Don’t ask me how one knows which one to use and when. I can’t properly pronounce the informal one.

But in light of North American baseball’s season being long delayed, I have discovered the Korean Baseball League. I don’t get up at 5:30 a.m. to watch it live but TSN repeats it at a more reasonable hour at 9:00 a.m. The KBL is a lot of fun to watch. It is not at the same level as MLB, but it is highly entertaining. I don’t know most of the players, nor do I have a particular team which I am cheering for. The stands are empty of fans but the players seem to be really enjoying themselves.

Each team has a limited number of non-Korean ball players, mostly former players from MLB, many of who are born and bred American. They are strangers in a strange land. Different language. Different foods. Different customs and culture.  For a country whose citizens, at least some of them, can be very jingoistic  and even xenophobic, as recent events in the USA are revealing, it must feel strange to be the one tagged as a foreigner, an outsider, an alien, an immigrant,  a baseball refugee, and to look so different from most others.

Yet, as some of these non-Korean ball players are interviewed, most seem to be very appreciative of the welcome and the inclusion which they are experiencing. They talk about some of the adjustment difficulties, of course, but several of them have been playing in the KBL for a few years and keep coming back. They enjoy the sport there, but I don’t think some of them would stay if it was a miserable experience.

                It has been suggested by a few travel experts that when visiting a foreign country (note how we designate the country as being foreign) one should immerse oneself more deeply the country’s true culture to truly understand it. It is not enough to just visit the popular tourist sites and eat gourmet food in classy restaurants which are sometimes geared to the North American taste buds. Discover the local markets, the off-the-beaten path eateries, the smaller towns and villages, talk to the locals, if possible.

                I will never forget my trip with the Peterborough Medical Brigade to Indonesia many years ago. We were visiting the island of Flores. We trekked by truck to remote areas of the island to run medical clinics for people who had little access to medical care or couldn’t afford it. By Canadian standards, we saw a lot of extremely poor standards of living. Yet, at the risk of sounding patronizing, these people always seemed to be joyful, thankful and to lead lives that were fulfilling in their own right. Everyone treated us so well while we were there. Their hospitality was outstanding. It was almost embarrassing, sometimes.

Compared to how we, in North America, can treat strangers, immigrants and aliens, or just anyone who seems different on the outside in appearances, we have a lot to learn from the hospitality in other cultures. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” (Matthew 25:25 NRSV) At the very least, (and I mean the very least) we can treat others with respect, dignity, and politeness. Hospitality is much more than that but it can begin there.

My life has been blessed, broadened, taught and  challenged by the people of colour, people of other nations, people of different lifestyles whom I have had the privilege of knowing or being welcomed into  their homes.

“Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.”  (Romans 12:13, The Message Bible)

Amen to that!

Dale