Tuesday, November 16, 2004 Nativity Fast
Apostle Matthew the Evangelist
Kellia: Judges 19:1-9 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:9-16 Gospel: St. Matthew 9:9-11
Judges 19:1-9 LXX, especially vs. 4: "The father of the damsel
constrained him, and he staid with him for three days; and they ate and drank, and lodged
there." This passage from Judges is a concise account of classic Middle-Eastern hospitality, a
virtue highly ranked among the peoples of the Biblical world and blessed of God. The Prophet
Job confessed before the Lord that "the stranger did not lodge without and my door was opened
to everyone that came" (Job 31:32 LXX). The best known example of hospitality among the
ancient People of God occurred during the visitation of Abraham by Three Angels at the Oaks of
Mamre when the Patriarch "took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared and set it
before them"(Gen 18:8). This kindness gained the old man and his wife Sarah the blessing of
God for a son.
When the Lord Jesus sent the Twelve out with virtually no resources (Lk 10:4), He assumed their
well-being, because hospitality was a cultural expectation (Lk. 10:5). Yet, as a matter of fact, the
Lord assured His disciples that His blessing would be upon all those who would welcome his
missionaries into their homes (Lk. 10:6). For all Christians, the virtue and blessings of
hospitality remain, being an Apostolic precept: "Be kindly affectionate to one
another...distributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality (Rom. 12:10,13).
The father-in-law of the Levite reveals three basic elements of true hospitality: 1) He extended a
hearty welcome to his son-in-law, his attendant, and his animals. 2) He pressed beyond all
demurring and hesitation, and "constrained" (Jdgs. 19:4,7) the young man to accept his cordial
offerings of food, shelter, and companionship. 3) To put an earnest seal upon the welcome which
he offered, the father revealed a desire not only for the physical comfort of his guest but that he
enjoy himself and finally accomplish his goal of returning to his own home.
Observe that "the father of the damsel saw him and was well pleased to meet him" (vs. 3). The
impression which the phrase "well pleased to meet him" may indicate is that the father had never
met the son-in-law. Because the damsel was a concubine, rather than a veiled wife with a
dowery, and since concubines usually were obtained as war booty or by slave trading, the young
woman may well have been sold by her father because of poverty, being traded within the tribes
of Israel. The point is that the father welcomed the young man heartily. The hospitality was not
given grudgingly, for over and over again, the father constrained the son-in-law to stay on well
beyond the three days which custom demanded, he himself entertaining the Levite.
The repeated efforts of the father to overcome any polite hesitation on the part of the son-in-law
reveal another dimension of true hospitality: that it be pursued earnestly, without grudging, but
with a hearty desire to make welcome. The customary three days are mentioned in verse four, but
the father continues to press the young man to a fourth and fifth day (vss. 5-9). The father may
have been poor, but as St. Theodoros instructed monks living in elected poverty: "Even if you do
not have [bread and water], but simply make the stranger welcome and offer him a word of
encouragement, you will not be failing in hospitality;" and so the father did.
Finally, the one offering hospitality always should keep in mind the goals and needs of the guest.
The father was not tricking the son-in-law into staying, but endeavoring to make him fully
welcome, for each time he urged the Levite to stay he recognized the young man's need to return
to his home on the slopes of Mount Ephraim (vss. 5,8,9). In true hospitality, let there be a
sensitive balancing of the warmth of one's welcome and the needs and goals of one's guest.
O Christ our God, shower Thy blessing upon the homes of thy servants, and grant them grace to
extend true and warm hospitality to all whom Thou dost bring to them as guests.