Our last article looked at the tradition of hospitality as an ancient custom shared by human beings all over the world. The essence of hospitality is sharing what one has (food, clothing, shelter and protection) with a stranger. This sharing was not dictated by law but was considered to be part of the essence of being a good human being because it was believed that God or the gods desired that we take care of one another. While hospitality was primarily a product of nomadic cultures we will see that it became part of the Jewish and Roman cultures in which Christianity was birthed.
We witness the pervasive nature of hospitality within the New Testament in the travels of the disciples, the teachings of Jesus and the travels and letters of Paul. In terms of the ministry of Jesus and the travels with his disciples we need to remember that they did not work to support themselves. They were completely beholding to the kindness of others. Scripture tells us that Jesus and the disciples were supported by the gifts of his female followers. In addition there are numerous stories of Jesus eating with Pharisees as well as with sinners and tax-collectors. In other words Jesus was willing to accept the hospitality of anyone who offered. One of the most retold stories of this hospitality concerns Jesus' meal with the tax-collector Zacchaeus (Luke 19), where Jesus actually invites himself to dinner. In the Gospel of Mark (6:8 ff.) we read of Jesus teaching his disciples that they must be completely dependent on the hospitality of those who would receive them. This admonition also included a warning that they not move up to better quarters even if they were offered. Jesus' offering of hospitality is seen in the crowd feeding stories in which the disciples were told to share their meager rations with the thousands who were listening to Jesus preach. The fact that the little food possessed by the disciples fed everyone was a reminder of God's hospitality.
Jesus' teachings also include stories about hospitality. One of the most significant of these stories was the Good Samaritan story. If you recall the story it concerns a Jewish man who has been beaten and robbed on a road going from Jerusalem to Jericho. Hospitality would dictate that anyone coming across this poor man would stop and help him. However, in Jesus' story, a Jewish priest and Levite pass him by and ignore the hospitality directive. Ultimately the one who shows Godly hospitality is a Samaritan (an enemy of the Jews) who binds the man's wounds and provides for his lodging. The Samaritan understands that God requires hospitality for everyone including strangers and enemies. A second significant teaching on hospitality occurs in Matthew 25 where we hear Jesus telling his followers that they are responsible for taking care of "the least of these." The story is focused on feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving water to the thirsty, opening our homes to the homeless and visiting those in prison. All of these are acts of hospitality.
Finally we catch glimpses of hospitality in the life of the early church through the stories in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles and in Paul's letters. In Acts 6 we watch the struggle over hospitality as the church tries to figure out how to care for Greek speaking widows in Jerusalem. They were strangers and thus had been left out of the food distribution. The Apostles take care of this and assure that the widows' needs are taken care of. In Romans 12 Paul specifically encourages the church to practice hospitality. In I Corinthians 11 he chastises the church because at their love feast (sort of an early communion service) some people were eating and drinking at the same time others were going hungry (a violation of hospitality in which all is shared). The Apostle Peter (I Peter 4:9) reminds his readers to practice hospitality "ungrudgingly".
In the final analysis hospitality was one of the hallmarks of the early church. It is what set it apart from much of the urban Roman culture in which it was being formed. People were drawn to a community that cared for and about the stranger.
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