“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Do not neglect (epilanthano) to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it — the prohibition against neglecting hospitable (philoxenia) toward strangers (xenos) recalls Genesis 18 (Abraham's unexpected guests). Entertaining angels unawares reminds that the stranger may embody the sacred.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse
OH
Omar HassanNote1mo agoShow Hospitality to Strangers
I grew up middle class in the suburbs where everyone was like us. When I moved into a diverse urban neighborhood, I was terrified of people who looked different from me. The verse about hospitality to...
1
LH
Lena HoffmannNote1mo agoStranger Hospitality as Sacred Obligation
I'm a refugee caseworker, and this verse has become a kind of mission statement for my work. The idea that we might be entertaining angels unaware, that the stranger we're helping might be more than t...
1