LIVING WORD
Reading Scripture from the Heart of the Church
The Biblical Art of
Hospitality
Dr. Mary Healy
H
ospitality is often regarded today as something of an optional pas-
time. Some people enjoy throwing dinner parties or hosting guests
overnight; others do not. Many Christians may be surprised to discover
that for God’s people, hospitality is not an option but a solemn duty.
The first biblical example of hospitality
is the moving scene at the Oaks of Mamre
where the Lord appears to Abraham in the
form of three men (Gen 18). Abraham’s re-
sponse is a model of Middle Eastern hos-
pitality. He greets his guests with profound
courtesy and deference. He urges them to
stay for a while, have their feet washed (the
first foot-washing in the Bible!), and enjoy
a light snack before continuing their jour-
ney – making clear that the honor would
be all his. He then hastens to prepare a
lavish meal with the best that he can of-
fer. The text does not say whether Abraham
immediately recognizes the divine identity
of his guests, but his profoundly reverent
demeanor suggests that he does. It is the
first biblical hint that every act of hospital-
ity is in some sense a welcoming of God
himself.
The Old Testament is filled with similar
accounts of people welcoming brothers,
friends, strangers, enemies, or at times, an-
gels. In one case, a generous act of hospi-
tality stopped a war, when the king of Israel
set a rich banquet before the Syrian troops
that had come to attack him (2 Kg 6:21-
23). Lot, Gideon, Manoah, and Tobit all
welcomed visitors graciously before realiz-
ing that they were angels (Gen 19:1-3; Jdg
6:19; 13:15–16; Tob 5:4–14). The letter to
the Hebrews has these examples in mind
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when it teaches Christians, “Do not neglect
to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby
some have entertained angels unawares”
(Heb 13:2).
The Greek word for hospitality (philox-
enia) literally means “love for strangers.”
After the exodus from Egypt, God makes
hospitality a law for his people, precisely
because they knew what it was like to be
aliens in a foreign land: “You shall treat the
stranger who sojourns with you as the na-
tive among you, and you shall love him as
yourself, for you were strangers in the land
of Egypt” (Lev 19:34).
The New Testament letters insist on the
obligation to provide hospitality. “Contrib-
ute to the needs of the saints, practice hos-
pitality” (Rom 12:13). “Practice hospitality
ungrudgingly to one another” (1 Pet 4:9-
10). Peter’s exhortation to be “ungrudging”
acknowledges the fact that bringing people
of very different habits or cultures into
one’s home can be costly, demanding, and
uncomfortable.
In the early Church, hospitality was a
practical necessity to serve the needs of
itinerant evangelists and any traveling
Christians (3 Jn 5-8), but it also included
welcoming local believers into one’s home
for meals and worship. Indeed, long before
church buildings were built, every liturgy
was an act of hospitality! (cf. Acts 12:12).
Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Summer 2019
A track record of hospitality is among the
qualifications for those chosen to be a bish-
op, deacon, or enrolled widow (1 Tm 3:2;
5:10; Ti 1:8).
The Gospels reveal a deeper dimension
to Christian hospitality. To welcome others,
especially the most needy, is to welcome
the Lord himself, as he declares: “I was…
a stranger and you welcomed me…. What-
ever you did for one of these least brothers
of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:35-40).
Levi the tax collector models the ideal re-
sponse to the call to discipleship: he throws
a party and invites Jesus to sit at table with
his friends (Lk 5:29).
The Lord is in a mysterious way pres-
ent in every stranger who is in need of a
warm welcome, food, and shelter. He is
the divine Guest who has come from afar
and seeks a dwelling place in this foreign,
fallen land. He waits to be invited: “Stay
with us, for it is toward evening and the
day is now far spent” (Lk 24:29). Yet in an-
other sense he is the gracious Host, and we
are his guests. So Jesus continually exhorts,
“Abide in me… Abide in my love” (Jn 15:4,
9), for “In my Father’s house there are many
dwelling places… [and] I am going to pre-
pare a place for you” (Jn 14:2).
Dr. Mary Healy is professor of Sacred Scripture
at Sacred Heart.