“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:2
When I was in confirmation class many years ago, I don’t recall especially that there was an assignment around choosing a “life verse” or any such similar activity. I could not begin to guess when this particular verse came into my consciousness, even. What I do know is that when it did, it came around repeatedly, and insistently. In that way that the Holy Spirit will nudge us towards what we need to learn, this verse has followed me, or perhaps like a will-o-the-wisp, I have followed it. It is such a simple instruction, and yet a bold one. Almost a dare. What courage it takes to practice radical hospitality, to be a refuge for those traveling through the wilderness in the literal or metaphorical sense. We have to choose someone else’s comfort (not to the point of harm, but still) above our own.
My understanding of this verse has deepened over the years. In a desert existence, hospitality was quite entirely the difference between life and death. Someone traveling through the unforgiving landscape would rely on the kindness of those whose tents they traveled by for shelter, water, sustenance. To refuse someone such succor was tantamount to a death sentence. Of course, it references Abraham and the strangers in Genesis. Offering safety to travelers, to strangers, to foreigners in your land is a theme on repeat throughout the scriptures. It was true thousands of years ago and it is still true today that all of us will be, at some point, in need of the mercy and welcome of others. Beyond scriptural context, we know that many who still live in such environments, many who still live the same way that we lived thousands of years ago continue to adhere to these practices as a matter of course. People of many faiths and cultures, from Bedouins to Benedictines to Buddhists adhere to the tenets of welcome as a moral pillar.
Over the weekend, I witnessed youth who were deeply familiar with the welcoming principle of Kamp Kaleo enthusiastically embrace newcomers to that place with great hospitality. In every way you hope for as a leader and mentor for young people, they practiced what had been modeled and preached to them. In less than an hour, you would have been hard-pressed to discern which of them had been “living in the tent” and which were the “strangers” They raised questions together about how to be a Light in the world, how to create more welcome, more acceptance, more Love, more gentleness in a world which is in desperate need of it. They give me hope, and they are a reminder to all of us that we have a duty to entertain strangers in our midst, for each of them is the Child of God, and indeed, as holy as angels among us.
Holly A. Gage
Youth Ministry Coordinator
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Nebraska
Nebraska Conference of the United Church of Christ