ASPAZOMAI (To Welcome)

WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ

What is the Word?

“You’re welcome” may seem like a trite and cheap phrase. After all, we use it so often that we don’t usually pause to reflect on its meaning. However, in the scriptures, the idea of welcoming someone is given substantial importance in their ancient context, where hospitality is one of the main ways that love and graciousness are expressed. The word used in the New Testament for this hospitable welcoming is aspazomai.

How does the Bible use this word?

Aspazomai is a verb which at its most literal translation means to greet or to pay respects – even to salute. In fact, the root word spao means to draw to oneself. With this, one can see the hospitable undertones that are implied when this word is used. There are also elements of receiving joyfully someone into your embrace.

Where in the Bible?

For Jesus, our hospitality is something radical and involves extending our embrace even to those who are against us:

And if you greet (ἀσπάσησθε) only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 

Matthew 5:47

Jesus doesn’t want us to discriminate in our hospitality, for even the wicked will show love and hospitality to their own. Jesus calls us to a higher standard by welcoming everyone into our midst and greeting them as if they were Christ himself.

Moreover, Paul often begins and ends his letters with a heartfelt greeting, a salute to his brothers and sisters in Christ. For example:

Greet (Ἀσπάσασθε) every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet (Ἀσπάζονται) you. All the saints greet (Ἀσπάζονται) you, especially those of Caesar's household.

 Philippians 4:21-22

The meaning of the greeting becomes evident when we consider the circumstances in which Paul is writing. At the time, the Churches of Christ were a small, persecuted sect scattered across the Mediterranean landscape. A greeting from another congregation or from familiar fellow-workers in the kingdom would go a long way in improving the outlook and morale of the persecuted Christians, encouraging one another to hold fast to the faith in which they have inherited. These greetings are thus far more than formalities, they are in some cases a bolster to the spirit.

Always Welcome

In a world where hospitality is cheapened, it is helpful for us to meditate on the concept of hospitality and greeting in general. Is there someone young in the faith who might need to be shown encouragement? Who might you reach out to and greet in order to help strengthen their resolve? We have the blessing of a God who is always willing to welcome us into his arms – let us go forth likewise.