There are strangers among us; welcome them

According to narratives in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus sent out his disciples to the villages of Galilee to prepare for an upcoming visit. He gave to his disciples what to us seem like strange instructions. When they set out on their journey, they were to take no provisions for themselves. The disciples were to appear at the door of a home and announce that the reign of God has arrived. If the disciples were welcomed to eat and sleep, they would know a faithful Israelite was welcoming them. Hospitality was a time-honored part of Israelite faith.

Welcoming strangers is a theme that runs throughout the Old Testament and that became a central teaching of Jesus from Nazareth. According to Israelite tradition, aliens were to be treated the very same way that longstanding community members were treated. Jesus took this standard seriously and made it a test of kingdom teachings. If the disciples of Jesus were denied hospitality, they were to move on to the next house. The peace of God went to the welcoming household. The peace of God deserted the non-welcoming household.

Old Testament tradition is quick to remind Israelites that they were once strangers/aliens in Egypt. The message is plain — do not do to others what was done to you in Egypt. It is the Bible’s earliest expression of “do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” Israelite tradition at its very best insists that aliens are to be transformed into valued and beloved neighbors.

I love Psalm 23. It is often called the shepherd’s Psalm, but it is more. The Psalm is actually two poems that were somehow joined. The first part describes God’s menuha (joy and happiness) with a picture of sheep lying in green pastures and drinking cool water. The second part describes God’s shalom (peace) with a picture of a host providing a banquet for a fleeing alien and treating him as royalty in sight of a deadly enemy. Psalm 23 is Old Testament moral teaching at its very best. I have committed Psalm 23 to memory and recite it often to myself.

There are plenty of examples in the Old Testament when these standards of hospitality were forgotten, especially when Israel became rich and powerful under the reigns of King David and King Solomon. David built palaces and Solomon built a great temple with slave labor at the same time they sang songs of praise to God. Strangers were conquered and subdued, not welcomed. In retrospect, hypocrisy reigned supreme. Israelites did to others what had been done to them in Egypt.

In his own day, Jesus was the voice of protest against the political, economic and religious injustices taking place in Judea, Samaria and Galilee. He chose hospitality as the key issue in defining peace and justice.

Hospitality is a very special grace. I do not want to disparage the outreach programs of churches. They are done with good intent. A lot of hard work is done. Churches supply food, clothing, transportation, education, housing and funds. Churches are quick to give a helping hand when disaster strikes. Time and energy are often given at considerable inconvenience and sacrifice. However, churches (mine included) have learned to do good without getting too close to those we seek to help. Giving hospitality is the most challenging do-good effort of which I can think. One cannot give hospitality without getting close to those we seek to help. Those people might end up at our dining table (sometimes with not-so-good manners); they might be sitting in our chairs; they might be sleeping in our beds; they surely would be using our pristine bathrooms. God forbid that they might need to drive our cars.

Yes, hospitality can even be dangerous. That comes with welcoming actions.

Jesus was willing to make hospitality the defining issue in membership in the Kingdom of God. This is in contrast to the practices of most Christian churches in the 21st century.

Rather than worshipping a gracious and welcoming God, Christians have created gated communities to which Jesus himself would find little welcome.

Churches have become large, wealthy and powerful. As we (yes, I am a churchman) have accumulated assets, we have become more protective and less eager to welcome the stranger and the alien. We even segregate ourselves from one another over the most trivial concerns. In my years as a pastor, I found the poor much more open to welcoming a stranger into their homes than were people with wealth and possessions. At the same time we thank God for material blessings, we become much more protective of our wealth and remove our assets from use in the offering of the hospitality that Jesus required. The great condemnation of Christians and their churches is that they share in reverse proportion to what they have. The more they have, the less they give. Protection replaces generosity.

We always have strangers/aliens in our midst. Churches, individual Christians and our entire nation will succeed or fail according to the way we welcome strangers and offer hospitality. Fences across our southern border do not accomplish our moral best.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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