A good meal

Once upon a time, there lived in a village a poor religious minister. He performed religious rites and prayer meetings in the neighboring villages.

One time another minister came to his house and said, “I want to observe how you minister to the people here, as I’ve heard you are very effective. I also want to talk to the people. Will you kindly allow me to stay in your house for a few days?”

The resident minister gladly received the visitor and allowed him to stay in his house.

One day, the host minister said to his wife, “Today is a religious feast day. See that our guest is fed well. A guest is equivalent to God. So let us be courteous to him.”

Hearing the words of her husband, the minister’s wife said, “We are doing our best to be courteous and hospitable to him. He has the best room in the house. And we are serving him whatever modest meals we could afford. Isn’t it enough?”

The minister repeated softly, “Today is a religious feast day…”

“I know,” the wife interrupted. “Unfortunately, I have nothing special in the kitchen to offer him.”

“Let us find a way,” the minister said.

The wife moved forward and looked her husband in the eye. “You never went out of your way for me. You never bought me good clothes. You never brought home special provisions. And you ask me to prepare something special for your guest?”

The minister kept his cool as his wife grumbled. He held her shoulders and said calmly, “My dear, I know.” Tears welled up in his wife’s eyes. The minister continued, “We’re poor but even then we should serve our guest a special meal today. It’s more an expression of our good nature than an expression of our abundance.”

“But there’s nothing in the kitchen to make into a special meal for him,” the wife reasoned.

“Never mind,” the minister said. “Let’s make the best of what little we have.”

The minister gestured his wife to the kitchen. She followed him, wiping the tears on her face. They got busy looking for whatever they could make into a good meal for their guest.

The wife brought out a cup of munggo beans, which the minister thought could be made into a delicious hot soup. The wife ran to their backyard garden to pick fresh vegetables. In no time, the delicious whiff of the munggo soup began to fill the air.

Just in time, the visiting minister came from making a few house visits in the neighborhood. Since food was ready, they all shared a good meal. The guest liked the munggo soup a lot that he asked for an extra bowl of it.

“This meal is really a celebration. It is not only special – but memorable,” said the visiting minister. “It is not every day that I get the privilege of sharing a good meal with truly hospitable people.”

The minister and his wife looked at each other.

“This special meal is truly unexpected,” the guest continued. “I knew you had very limited means, and I was ready to be served with only rice and salt.” He smiled big in utter gratitude, “But, look, this is a feast!”

The minister and his wife came up with a good meal for their guest not because they had the means, but because they had the good intention. They were good people indeed.