St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Note: I wrote this as today’s devotion for Wittenberg Academy.
November 19, 2020 – St. Elizabeth of Hungary
In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
After the death of Jesus, His friends and family had to find a place for His burial. A wealthy benefactor, a member of the Sanhedrin (the ruling council of the Jews), took a risk and officially asked for custody of our Lord’s body (which had been hastily removed from the cross with the approach of the extra special Passover Sabbath approaching at sundown). Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate himself and asked for the body. It must have been seen as somewhat scandalous for a respected member of the Council to seek the body of a convicted “terrorist” and “traitor” against Rome.
Joseph’s actions were a kind of confession of faith – at least in the innocence of Jesus. For if he had truly believed Him to be guilty, why would he seek to give him an honorable burial – even in his own tomb? And it also stands to reason that Pilate (who had declared our Lord to be innocent, but allowed His execution anyway) really didn’t believe that Jesus was a traitor to Rome either – for he granted Joseph’s request.
Joseph not only volunteered the tomb, but also “wrapped [the body] in a clean linen shroud” and took the initiative to have Him placed in it. Joseph’s actions are also an example of hospitality. We think of hospitality as offering guests food and drink and a place to stay for the night. And it is. But it is much more. Our modern word “hospital” is based on the same word. Hospitality is to meet someone’s needs by showing them compassion and taking care of them. This applies to travelers, to the sick, and even to the body of Christ, as He likewise needed a place to lodge overnight.
Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess who was married at the age of fourteen. She and her husband raised three children at the Wartburg Castle, where Martin Luther would later find hospitality as a refugee from the pope and his allies. St. Elizabeth was known for her hospitality, and even turned her castle into a hospital. She took a risk and gave up her own bed to a leper. It must have been scandalous for a wealthy aristocrat to show such hospitality. Sadly, her husband died when she was only twenty, and her service to God and to her neighbor continued as she became a Franciscan nun. She died at the age of 24, but is to this very day remembered for her hospitality to the body of Christ, that is, to her Christian brothers and sisters in need. This is why there are hospitals all over the world known by her name.
The tomb that our Lord borrowed from Joseph of Arimathea in death became a church after His resurrection. Its altar is an empty slab upon which the Eucharist is celebrated, where the body and blood of Christ are the ultimate hospitality to strangers and sojourners in this life. We eat and drink and find a home in the “hospitals” that are Christian sanctuaries around the world, each one being a kind of tribute to both Sts. Joseph of Arimathea and Elizabeth of Hungary, servants of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.