The Extra Chair

By Lionel Chan

Four days before my family’s Chinese New Year reunion dinner, a church member shared that it was her family’s custom to put out an ‘extra chair’ during each reunion dinner. The idea was to invite a foreign student, a migrant worker or someone who perhaps is living alone to join in the meal.

When I got home, immediately I shared about it with my wife. We decided we would invite YL, a former classmate of my son as the guest for our ‘extra chair’. YL was then 22 years old. His mother passed away when he was still in primary school. His father remarried and was preoccupied with his new family, leaving YL pretty much on his own. YL was already earning an income giving tuition when he was himself studying in secondary school. He learned to be independent at a very young age.

That reunion dinner turned out to be very different. My children went the extra mile to welcome YL. There was greater interaction at the table and it was very obvious to my wife and me that YL really enjoyed the food, because he made sure there was no leftover. We wanted to bless YL, but my family was blessed by his presence that night. I was reminded of Deuteronomy 10:18, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”