(philoxenos Root (strangers or foreigners) of guests) (I Pet 4:9)
1 Pet 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
I still remember walking into a restaurant and seeing a brand new position waiting at the checkin podium, Hospitality Server. So, they weren’t a hostess or host or just a server, they were – hospitality.
That not only seems like an outdated word, but one that is almost unheard in our culture today.
What does that word mean and where has the concept gone?
Wikipedia says it comes from the word “host” and “stranger” and It’s root word is enemy (ENEMY? – wow), where we get “hostile.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
It eventually comes to mean entertain or care for guests.
The way Peter uses it here it means to be “fond of foreigners (guests).”Philos” is a friendly love and “Xenos” is a stranger.
It is interesting that Peter attaches the phrase, “without grumbling” to the admonition to be hospitable. I’m sure there are stories that he does not tell that made him write that extra bit.
I know as a little boy growing up in the sixties I would go along with my grandparents when they visited friends. We would all be warmly invited in, offered something to drink (and depending on the season a goodie or two) and then they would get down to the serious business of “visiting.” Sometimes it was a brief visit, never less than a half-an-hour, and that was if we just stood at the door and politely denied entrance because, “we were in a hurry.” Other times it would go on for a couple of hours! The point is, I know what it’s like to be a good host and I know what to expect when I drop by the house of a friend. Do you remember the simpler times in life when you or your parents would just “drop by” a neighbor’s home. Oh, I hear the backlash, “how rude – I would never go to someone’s home without warning.” Okay, so for you folks, warn them and then follow through by making the visit.
Are we just too busy to do this anymore? Is it about time or vulnerability or disconnectedness?
I can tell you this, if you are a friend of mine, you can know right now – sooner or later – I’m dropping in just because! And I expect you to offer a drink, some goodies and really good conversation about the things that really matter in our lives. So put on some clothes, forget about picking up the house and answer the door.
Is it any wonder we feel like strangers on Sunday morning? We practically are! Do you want to be family or congregants?
You and I can turn this whole “hospitable” thing around by being more intentional, sporadic and fun about being truly involved in each other’s lives. Oh, and don’t give me that, “but I’m a private person” nonsense. Jesus didn’t die “publicly” for us to live “privately!” We are family, let’s start acting like it.
Prayer: Father, we desperately need to see it each other more like family. Help us get over our comparisons and isolation to prepare us for heaven. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.
Next week – Fellowship
Timothy Keller in his book, Counterfeit Gods, that “In ancient cultures, eating with someone symbolized openness and acceptance.”