Hospitality has been a part of human culture for centuries. “In a number of ancient civilizations, hospitality was viewed as a pillar on which all morality rested.”[1] Wherever there was a path or a trail or a road, there were people journeying. And wherever there were people journeying, there was a need for a good night’s sleep, a bite to eat and an open door. The Biblical idea of hospitality is often used with the terms “guest,” “stranger,” and “sojourner.” It is useful to limit the meaning of “hospitality” to benevolence done to those outside one’s normal circle of friends, as is implied in the literal meaning of the Greek word (“love of strangers”).
Although the concept is thoroughly endorsed in the Bible, it is clearly found in nonbiblical cultures as well, especially the nomadic, where definite obligations to provide food, shelter, and protection are recognized.[2]
Modern day pilgrimages such as El Camino de Santiago in Spain and the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru are predicated on this early human ritual: travel a day’s journey, find a nearby house/hostel/inn with a welcoming host, share food and life, and repeat the next day. “In the ancient world, to share food with someone was to share life.” [3] This practice of being a host and giving a place of rest, sustenance and welcome to the stranger, however, didn’t begin with humans. It began with God.
New Testament (NT) Hospitality is grounded in God’s heart for all people. As God created the world, he welcomed humans to be his guests in his magnificent garden home (Gen. 2:15, 3:8). “Hospitality is the act or process whereby the identity of the stranger is transformed into that of guest.”[4] Human history concludes with the ultimate act of hospitality as ALL of God’s people, regardless of language, nationality, or race, are welcomed again to another magnificent home (Rev. 21:1-4). “The Bible begins with God making a home for humanity to dwell with Him in a garden and the Bible ends with God making a home for believers to dwell with Him in a city.”[5]This divine welcoming and invitation for humans is especially poignant in Isaiah. Phrases like “the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast”[6]and “everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…come, buy and eat!”[7]delineate God’s heart for people across time and cultures. In between the creation bookends of God’s incredible hospitality, he is encouraging (yes, even commanding!) his people to be gracious hosts to the alien and stranger (Lev.19:33-34). God also receives the welcome from people through acts of hospitality and meals/places to stay (Gen.18:1-8). This inclusion and openness and invitation “fleshes itself out” as he shows up on the planet to show what life here can really look like.
Next Week: Jesus and Hospitality. BTW: I HIGHLY recommend the books below by Pohl, Jipp, and Willis/Clements on this topic. More to come...
[1]Christine D. Pohl, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999), loc. 83.
[2] David K. Huttar, “Hospitality,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1006.
[3] Rodney K. Duke, “Hospitality,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, electronic ed., Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 360.
[4] Joshua W. Jipp, Saved by Faith and Hospitality (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2017), 2.
[5] Dustin Willis and Brandon Clements. The Simplest Way to Change the World: Biblical Hospitality as a Way of Life. (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2017), 40.
[6]Isaiah 25:6, English Standard Version (ESV).
[7]Isaiah 55:1