The Practice of Hospitality in Early Christianity : Reading 2 John and 3 John from a Vietnamese American Perspective

The practice of hospitality is recognized by every culture, society, and religion. Within the Christian traditions, studies have shown that “the private practice of hospitality was widely recognized as a virtue in antiquity” (Malherbe 2014, 70)1 and that “early Christian hospitality is one of its most charming features” (Riddle 1938, 141). The New Testament gives ample evidence and citations with regard to the practice of hospitality, as in the following examples. Writing to a not-yet met audience, Paul encourages the Roman Christians “to share in the needs of the saints, and to seek after hospitality to strangers” (Rom. 12:13; cf. Philm.).2 The language of hospitality is also plain in a number of Gospel accounts. Sending his disciples out on their missions, Jesus tells them not to take anything with them, but to accept the host’s hospitality; and wherever they travel, they are to stay with the host until they leave the house (cf. Mk 6:7-11; Mt. 10:5-42; and Lk. 9:2-5; 10:1-16; Didache 11:1-3). Toward the end of the Letter to the Hebrews, the author advises the Christian members “not to forget to extend hospitality to strangers” (Heb. 13:2). Likewise, the author of 1 Peter urges “hospitality to one another without complaint” (1 Pet. 4:9). These examples suggest that the practice of hospitality was observed in different phases throughout the development of early Christianity. Christian hospitality seems to have been part of the processes of Christianity’s growth and expansion.

Copyright © Uriah Y. Kim, Seung Ai Yang and contributors, 2019

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