By: Chef Tamago
1 Pet 4:7-11 – “7 Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be serious and disciplined for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins.[k] 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”
Tucked right in the middle of this passage, is a little message about hospitality. I say little only in that I have often found it easy to read past it, and its importance has not stood out. The concept of hospitality is strong throughout the Bible, though there are not many occurrences of the word translated from the Greek, stemming from the root word Fileo, and none in Hebrew, though it is practiced. We see it in Abraham’s reception by the Egyptians, his reception of the angelic messengers, the Shunammite’s provision for Elisha and Rahab’s reception of the Hebrew spies in Jericho. We see where it was not extended by the Edomites during Israel’s wilderness journey, though they were a distant cousin to the Israelites. The principle is universally understood, even when we don’t find a specific reference to it in the Old Testament text. The Japanese translation is おもてなし, which conveys a sense of hospitality or reception.
In the New Testament, we find it extended to Paul and his fellow missionaries when they arrive at Malta, though the situation quickly turned tenuous. We see Jesus’ admonition of “goats” and affirmation of “sheep” as a visual parable to the necessity to extend hospitality (Matt 25:31-46). Paul encourages us to PURSUE hospitality (Rom 12:13) and identifies it as a qualification for receiving material support when one needs it (1 Tim 5:10). The writer of Hebrews echoes Matthew’s account and adds that some we extend hospitality to may indeed be angels. Whatever your view on angelology, we can all embrace the idea of receiving someone as special, a gift from God if we so choose.
Our text from First Peter is one, though, that clarifies an issue for me. Though the letter is addressed to the Jewish diaspora in what is modern day Turkey, we receive it as to ourselves. Those written to were identified by Peter as “set apart by God”, called to obedience. He emphasizes that they are to be holy as the Lord is holy. They are to live out their hope in a manner that is pleasing to God. This includes submission to those they found placed in authority over them, slave owners, husbands, and governments. They were called to abstain from all evil, for then their lives would be above reproach. Yet, even if they suffered undeservedly, they were to still honor God in their actions and the words they used. In this they were to emulate Jesus in every way.
Where does this fit in with our mission, and why does Peter put hospitality into the pragmatic statements concerning ethical living amidst a secular society? First, extending hospitality to other believers provides enormous support for them as they deal with their own outside secular pressures. Second, though, is the witness it gives. As we love each other with filial affection and care, it stands in contrast to the self-motivations within any culture. Christians have been known for their love of each other since the beginning of the church. One of the greatest witnesses for Christ after the 3/11 tsunami was the method different Christian groups worked together in the relief efforts.
One of the saddest, and most enlightening things my wife and I were told when we first went to Japan was, “don’t be surprised when other missionaries don’t receive you with open arms.” How sad, and yet how true it has been. It should not take a natural disaster to bring this to the fore. We are told to pursue hospitality and extend it without complaining. There is no “escape clause” attached to this. It is to be done without regard to our agreements and methodologies. You may notice, too, hospitality is not specifically expressed biblically in terms of welcoming someone into your home, though that may be part of it. It is to be lived out in our everyday dealing with each other. Receive in love, that is what we are called to do.
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