Hospitality in an Unwelcoming World
WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ
Hospitality has been a major theme in Christianity since nearly the beginning. Many of the Church fathers wrote extensively on the importance of receiving the guest and the stranger as if they were Christ himself. While there is historic precedent for the practice of hospitality in the spiritual life of Christians, the theme is not always the most prevalent. It may seem strange to us today, but hospitality is actually more common in the scriptures than many realize. Here are three places in the New Testament that we can look to for guidance on hospitality:
Matthew 10: 11-15
And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
This teaching from Jesus is in reference to the way his apostles are treated when he sends them out to preach the Gospel. The harshness of Jesus’ words have to be understood in context. Jesus takes the treatment of his apostles seriously. To reject his apostles and their message is to reject Christ himself. This is why he can say to those who have rejected his messengers “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” (Matthew 25:45). Thus, Jesus gives us a warning about indifference in receiving the stranger.
Acts 16:29-34
And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
When the jailer was saved from suicide by Paul and Silas, he approached them with great fear, wondering what he must do to be saved. When they had preached the gospel to him, his heart was filled with thanksgiving. He brought Paul and Silas into his home where he and his household were baptized and taught of the Lord. Their wounds were cared for and they were fed out of gratitude. This is a wonderful testimony to the transformative power of the gospel and the good works that flow out of that transformation.
Luke 10:25-37
And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
While the focus of the parable of the Good Samaritan is usually on the Samaritan himself, there is much we can learn about hospitality from the Innkeeper. He took care of the man and nurses him back to health under no obligation. The small amount of money given to him by the Samaritan likely would not have been enough to pay for his upkeep, and there was no guarantee that the Samaritan would return to pay the Innkeeper for any additional expenses. From the information we are given, the Innkeeper cared for the man with little resource by opening his Inn to the man regardless of the risk to himself or his business.
Conclusion
Hospitality is an oft overlooked reflection of our hearts as Christians. God is glorified in the ways in which we welcome and care for those who need us the most. When we open our hearts and homes to others, we see a small picture of the kind of hospitality Christ shows to his people, for whom he has prepared a place where we will dine with him through all eternity.