Hebrews 13:1-2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Love is the chief virtue of Christian virtues. It makes sense that the author of Hebrews begins his chapter by exhorting his audience to continue in brotherly love. We see this in our verses today with the call for us to show hospitality to strangers. Ancient peoples prized hospitality. Traveling was not always safe, and places to stay were dangerous when one was on a journey. Travelling Christians relied particularly on the hospitality of strangers. As Christians were mostly reviled in that time, they often had to endure rejection and inhospitable conduct from the Jews and pagans around them. During His earthly ministry, Jesus had no place to lay His head, having no permanent home. Jesus depended on the hospitality of others. A willingness to be hospitable to strangers was particularly important for the Christian community. Many Christians relied on the hospitality of “strangers” who were also Christians. It is a special display of Christian love to show hospitality to believers whom we do not know well. Here, the author of Hebrews adds that we may be entertaining angels without knowing it. There were such encounters as in Genesis 18, which records Abraham’s visit with three men at the oaks of Mamre. Abraham went to great effort to be hospitable to these men, whose angelic nature was not evident to him, at least at first. But, Abraham’s example was of hospitality par excellence. That the strangers to whom we show kindness might even be angels makes us all the more willing to be hospitable to others. When we reject strangers, particularly professing Christian strangers, we might be rejecting supernatural agents of the Lord. A willingness to show hospitality insofar as we are able is an important part of obeying the Lord. It also helps us grow in the virtue of love. As we get to know Christian strangers better, we learn how to love them better and thus have more opportunities to show brotherly love. We should be going out of our way to be hospitable to fellow church members whom we do not yet know well and to show hospitality to traveling missionaries when they visit.
Source: S C Ball April 26, 2024
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