Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood–being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it. [Gen. 18:1-8; 19:1-3.]
Hebrews 13:2 (amplified bible)
Philoxenia is my new word of the week. Apparently it is translated “hospitality” in the Bible.
The interesting thing is that it literally means to love strangers, those who are different from ourselves. It is the polar opposite of xenophobia (fear of the “other”/stranger), if you follow my reasoning.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].
As I mentioned before, in my post “Perfect love casts out fear”, love and fear are not neurologically compatible. We cannot love while we are in fear and vice versa.
I was planning to wax poetic on how we, as Christians, cannot fear and hate those who are different from us, but a quick little internet search turned up that Keri Wyatt Kent already wrote a fine blog post to that effect. I recommend you read it here.
keriwyattkent.com/xenophobia-and-philoxenia-or-what-is-biblical-hospitality/
elämänpuun lehti 