![Post image for Unpacking Hospitality [radical hospitality, part one]](http://www.jesusradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/lastsupper-eichenberg.jpg)
Extending hospitality to strangers has been a source of great joy in my life, but it has also been a source of struggle. I’ve been conditioned to fear the stranger–most of us have. We’ve been bombarded with worse-case-scenarios in news reports and in film. And our society has nurtured within us an individualistic sense of entitlement that our homes should be castles that shelter us from the rest of the world. We don’t even assume that we should take care of ailing family or elderly parents anymore. Our society breeds inhospitality.
I have been infected with such conditioning…which makes my life hard since my community, Missio Dei, centers its way of life on hospitality–albeit imperfectly. Hospitality doesn’t come easily to me. I love the gesture of hospitality. But, at the end of the day, I don’t like being burdened with other people’s problems. And I don’t like other people getting into my problems.
Nevertheless, over the past 7 years of living in intentional community, I believe I’ve become a more loving human being. That gives me hope. It says to me that, as hard as it is, hospitality is not only a worthwhile practice for guests, but also for hosts.
Over the next several weeks, I’ll explore the practice of hospitality. I intend to share some lofty notions, to be sure, but notions that are grounded in the experiences of a man who doesn’t often do hospitality well. My hope is that this series will show you a practice that, though difficult, is doable for people who don’t think they “have what it takes” do extend hospitality to strangers.
Today, when someone says “hospitality” it often means having friends over for dinner or family over for a visit. Unless, of course, you’re referring to the hospitality “industry”–which refers to the vast commercial enterprises of lodging, restaurants, tourism, etc.
Technically speaking, hospitality isn’t hospitality unless it is offered to a stranger. It is the ancient practice of offering care to strangers–usually through food or shelter.
The word “hospitality” comes from the Latin root hospes which means “stranger” or “guest.” It can also, in some instances, mean “host.
The Greek word for hospitality is philoxenos. This is, incidentally, the word for hospitality we find in the New Testament. Philo (the first part of the word) means “love” and xenos (the second part of the word) means “stranger”…but it can also mean “host.” And so, philoxenos is both the love for the stranger or it can mean love from the host.
In ancient Greece, practice of hospitality was associated to Zeus, the chief deity. Folks referred to him as Xenios Zeus–Zeus the Stranger–the idea that any stranger could be Zeus in disquise. This myth served to stress the utmost importance of hospitality. The host was to welcome strangers as though they were Zeus. Etiquette stressed that hospitality was to be offered in a way that honored the guest. Hosts were to wash the feet of guests, offer them food and drink, and–only after the guest was comfortable–ask the strangers name.
Greco-Roman hospitality wasn’t simply about welcoming a stranger, but also about equalizing the guest and the host. A host who begrudgingly showed care to a guest was considered a poor host. Hosts were to treat guests as equals and help them feel comfortable before even asking their name.
The early Christians were shaped by the Greco-Roman ideas of hospitality. But, just as importantly, they were shaped by Hebrew ideas as well.
In ancient Israel, it was considered the cultural norm to care for strangers and foreigners living among you. The bible commanded as much. And when the needy and the foreigner weren’t cared for, it was grounds for divine judgement.
Within the larger arch of the story of Israel, it was assumed that aliens could become faithful citizens of Israel. The ultimate hospitality of God and his people was the invitation for outsiders to become a part of the community. It is, arguably, for that reason that God set Israel apart as a sign to the nations
Clearly, both Hebraic and Greco-Roman ideas of hospitality influence both Jesus and the early church. But Christian hospitality seems to innovate beyond both the ancient Hebraic and Greco-Roman notions of hospitality.
In Jesus’ teachings, we go beyond the myth of entertaining Zeus to believing that every stranger we entertain is the same as entertaining Jesus (Mathew 25:31-46). In other words, we aren’t hospitable because the stranger might be Zeus, but because when we welcome the stranger, we are, in some real sense, welcoming Jesus himself
Jesus not only challenged how we extend hospitality, but broke the social norms by being a guest to questionable hosts (like tax collectors). It was a big no-no to be a guest in the home of a disreputable person. This goes beyond the Hebraic notion of hospitality into something much more provocative. Jesus didn’t ask for the stranger or outcast to adopt the regular symbols and practices of covenantal faithfulness before including them in the Kingdom.
As a result, Christians were called to be radically inclusive. Strangers were possible brothers and sisters. The early church grew quickly because marginalized folks were treated as honored equals.
Hospitality is at the heart of Christianity. And, by definition, it is practiced with strangers. Sharing food and shelter and all-good-things with friends and family is good, but it isn’t hospitality. There is a unique way that the practice of hospitality demonstrates the grace of God. The guest experiences inclusion, care, and provision while the host is blessed with an unexpected presence that reveals part of the nature of God. God is, after all, the Benevolent Host, and the Stranger in our Midst.
Unfortunately, it is all-too-easy to turn hospitality into an abstraction. One could affirm everything I’ve written thus far without actually feeling the need to extend hospitality. Hospitality is both a practice and an attitude. If you do the former without the latter, you will resent your guests. If you have the latter without the former, you never have any guests.
In upcoming articles, I will share out of my own experiences nurturing both the practice and the attitude of hospitality.
