By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University
Gracious Hospitality
1 Peter 4:7–11
Alongside the lessons biblical passages intend to teach, there are sometimes lessons they may not have intended to convey.
In Acts 27, for example, Luke’s real intent is to chart God’s sovereign purpose in taking Paul and the gospel to the heart of the Roman empire. Along the way though we also learn a great deal about ancient seafaring practices. Sailing from one port to another rather than directly across the Mediterranean, wintering in safe harbors, jettisoning cargo to lighten one’s load in a storm, using ropes to undergird a ship — all of these are practices we learn about from Acts 27 even if they were not the focus of the evangelist’s primary message.
Genesis 18 allows for a similar opportunity to read between the lines of the text. In this famous chapter, God and two angels approach the patriarch Abraham as he is resting at the door of his tent. Only we readers know that the three visitors are actually God and two angels. Abraham initially regards them merely as three men; it will only be later in the story that he comes to realize the identity of his visitors. Yet consider the way Abraham greeted these three men.
He begs them to stop at his tent so they can rest and enjoy just a morsel of bread. But Abraham’s idea of a morsel is a sight to behold! He tells his wife Sarah to take three measures of flour, roughly 150 cups, to make bread for the guests. To this he adds an entire calf and a full complement of fixings. Most importantly, he does all of this for what he at this point considers to be merely three ordinary men.
Though the real point of Genesis 18–19 will be to learn about God’s impending punishment on Sodom and Gomorrah, as we read between the lines, we learn a great deal about the extraordinary commitment to hospitality that ruled the lives of patriarchs like Abraham.
Prayer lays the groundwork for our love and hospitality. (7)
One passage in the New Testament that places a similarly heavy emphasis on hospitality is 1 Peter 4. Here we learn about the vital role hospitality plays both in solidifying the bonds of unity inside the Church and reaching out to those outside the Church.
Addressing Christians already facing persecution, Peter begins by impressing upon his readers the need to live lives that are sober-minded and self-controlled. Lives characterized by the opposite of these qualities, excess and license, would only undermine their prayers for divine protection against those who would wish them harm.
Constant love leads to a lifestyle of hospitality. (8–9)
To sober-mindedness and self-control, Peter adds an encouragement to love one another. Love covers a multitude of sins, he urges. And when Peter turns to the specific example of how his readers can show love to one another, he emphasizes the need for believers to show hospitality to one another. The author of Hebrews, likely referring back to Abraham, tells us that by showing hospitality some people have hosted angels without knowing it (Heb. 13:2). Peter’s encouragement is less dramatic but no less important: through our hospitality, we live out our love for one another.
God enables us to love and serve others. (10–11)
Peter closes this section of his letter with an admonishment that each of us use the gifts God has given us to serve others. While we are not all called to be teachers or leaders, we are all called to serve. As we put other’s needs before our own and show them hospitality, we extend God’s love and grace to those both inside and outside the Church.
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