No one is lesser or greater

We’ve been taking a look at what true hospitality looks like within a faith community and at our individual participation.

The Bible is clear that extending hospitality to strangers is important to people of faith. In all of the texts cited in this reflection, the message is the same: God makes no distinction between neighbors and strangers.

In the Old Testament examples, God is calling us to be hospitable because we don’t know who the stranger is. As people of God, no one is lesser or greater than another.

In the New Testament, Jesus is clear that if we love our neighbors as ourselves, we never have to worry about how we’re treating the stranger.

Biblical reflections on yesterday’s questions:

In your faith community, who would you consider a stranger? Read Genesis 18:1–8.

What are some assumptions you make about this stranger? Read Matthew 25:34–40.

What keeps you from being hospitable to the stranger? Read Luke 10:25–37 and James 2:1–9.

What does a hospitable community look like? What do you look like in that community? Read Luke 10:27–28.

Today we remember Thomas the apostle. This message was adapted from the “Welcoming the Stranger” resource written by Frances Frazier and Mary Zentner and available for free on the Women of the ELCA website.