Today, we are beginning our second week of our calm phase, which will wrap up our Among Us campaign. That means the devotional this week will be shorter, more reflective and more practice based than usual. This week we are going to explore the practice of hospitality. To start, today we are going to look at the etymology of the Greek words most often translated hospitality in the NT.
The word hospitality occurs 7x in the ESV translation. I'll give a quick breakdown of those seven occurrences.
- philoxenos φιλοφρόνως (3x); philoxenia φιλοξενία (2x)
- These are both compound words that consist of the philo (friend) + xenos (stranger, foreigner).
- 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8; 1 Pet. 4:9
- Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:2
- xenodocheō ξενοδοχέω (1x)
- similarly this is compound word with xenos (stranger, foreigner) + dechōmai (receive, welcome).
- 1 Tim. 5:10
- philophronos φιλοφρόνως (1x)
- compound word again philo (friend) + phren (understanding)
- Acts 28:7
This is the long way of demonstrating to you that the word, in its etymology, implies befriending strangers and foreigners—that is, people who are different than you. Its common usage was broader in the first century, but likely still carried some connotations of this idea.
Romans 12:13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
As this verse indicates, hospitality is not a mere suggestion for the Lord's people. It is an imperative.
Additional Content
Reflection
What's your general posture towards hospitality? How was hospitality practiced in your family of origin? Did you have an "open doors" type policy in your home? Or were you more secluded and restricted? Did you regularly witness acts of friendship? How has that influenced your general posture towards hospitality, today?