2006:Vol. II, No. 5

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Just inaugurated at Nazareth Village,

a new panoramic setting to experience the welcoming hospitality

of the Middle East—like in biblical times and continuing today!

 

Angels at Our Gates

 

It was dry and hot! “In the heat of the day…” the Genesis writer explained. Abraham was sitting at the opening to his tent gazing across the haze of heat rays shimmering above the sand, looking for nothing in particular. When the sun was at its highest, most creatures sheltered themselves to seek relief wherever they could.

      All of a sudden Abraham was startled—right there, standing nearby, were three men. He jumped up and ran over to them. Not often were passersby available for some company, exchanges of news and reports of what was happening elsewhere. Besides, the nomad culture had well-known rules about the appearances of strangers near your home. Abraham was to become the standard-bearer about how to treat such visitors. He insisted they stop and let him serve them—bringing water to cool their burning feet, some refreshment for their bodies.

         “Sarah!” he called out. “Make some fresh bread! We have visitors!” Making a fire in the burning sun of noontime would almost be unbearable. Then preparing the flour and water, a cup of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt—soon the dough could be kneaded into a ball, flattened out, and stretched into a thin patty to lay over the earthenware propped just above the flames. She could be ready with tasty pita bread before the calf had been slaughtered, quartered, and skewered to sizzle over another fire close by…

      Abraham didn’t know the visitors. He wasn’t preparing a welcoming banquet for long-lost friends or family. This was just the way to greet and treat anyone who came your way—strangers from another land, perhaps even enemies! The understanding was, on both sides, that enmity was set aside during this social exchange. To offer a meal was to say that you held nothing against the other. To accept such hospitality meant in return that you too were willing to set aside any disagreements. If they were indeed strangers when they arrived, they would be friends when they left.

      Throughout the Old and New Testaments this Middle Eastern custom of generous hospitality is part of many stories. The Abraham account that opens Genesis 18 became a pivot point for Rabbis’ teachings about treatment of visitors, aliens, or estranged relatives. The word most often associated with hospitality in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, dating from 250 years before the Common Era, is xenos. It literally means foreigner, stranger, or even enemy. Later it came to mean guest or host—the ones involved in the social act of sharing a meal. Interestingly by New Testament times, one who receives strangers is said to be philoxenos, a lover of strangers. “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality,” says Romans 12:13. And not only with fellow believers, but with all people.

         Jesus did! The gospels have many stories about Jesus having food and drink with those around him, indeed with people of questionable character or reputations quite unsavory—individuals shunned by the rest of society in many cases. A little man with a big financial business had heard about Jesus and was determined to see him as he came through his hometown of Jericho. As a Jew who had contracted with the hated Roman authorities to collect the decreed amount of taxes from his fellow Jews, Zacchaeus was in the strange position of being one of the wealthiest people in the city yet one of its most despised citizens, never one to be entertained by most others, nor able to welcome them to his home.

      Tax collectors in the first century were not paid a salary; they simply agreed to procure from others, in whatever manner they could, the levy prescribed by the Roman officials.

Then they were free to add on to the amount whatever they thought they could further extort. “If I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount,”

he proclaims to Jesus in Luke 19:8, perhaps giving us an indication of the level of fraud involved. That extra money was their income; quite a profitable enterprise it was, to the dismay and disgust of those around.

      Thus when Jesus spoke with Zacchaeus, and invited himself to this tax collector’s home for a meal, it would have been hard to imagine who was the more taken aback—Zacchaeus, or the crowd gathered around. Zacchaeus would certainly not have been at table with other Jews very often—especially not with a Rabbi. The crowd could not believe what they were hearing. Didn’t Jesus know who this was? Just look, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner’” [19:7].

The concept of reconciliation of people through the sharing of a meal was well understood in that culture. With the ‘sinner’s confession,’ Jesus makes an amazing announcement: “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham” [v. 9]. Notice the reference to Abraham, and perhaps also to the allusion his modeling of hospitality he had shown—to angels, as it turned out!

        Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom is frequently symbolized by images of food and drink, especially at festive meals. Thus the kingdom is compared to a great banquet in Matthew 8:11 [and look who else is there again!]: “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” The Parable of the Wedding Banquet [Matthew 22:1-14] is another obvious account, and Jesus ends his ministry with a ceremonial meal at which words about eating and drinking in the kingdom are spoken [Mark 14:17-25].*

       The Emmaus narrative, the Good Samaritan, the rich man and Lazarus, the feeding of the 5000—so many of the stories told by or about Jesus have to do with the production and use of food and drink, or the providing of homelike refuge for God’s creatures. His own behavior shows that he intended to live in accordance with the coming feast of the kingdom.*

      One of the pleasures of living in the Middle Eastern culture is the opportunity to share in wonderful examples of hospitality—long banquets feasts for many different life events, or just a family get-together with neighbors during the evening. That custom would be enough reason for Nazareth Village to offer a dining facility for its visitors who come from virtually every point on the globe. But to provide the experience of the first-century life and times of Jesus, the Village has put great emphasis on the importance of the meal together. A new stone-arched building reminiscent of the era has now been inaugurated, and groups regularly join in a first-century style meal at the end of their tour. The foods served are those typical of Jesus’ time.

      Inviting us—sinners all—to come and be reconciled to him, Jesus said, “Behold I stand and the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” [Rev. 3:20]. We do it at the Village, and it is something we take as a personal invitation for our daily lives too. After all, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us [13:2], “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”

 

*These references and several other commentary points in this article are credited to The Anchor Bible Dictionary.

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Mix well and knead with hands into round ball. (Several drops of olive oil can be used on hands if dough is too sticky).  Cover container with clean cloth and let rise for an hour.  Knead dough and form into four equal sized balls.  Let rise for 30 minutes. 

Flatten dough of each ball into round flat shape about ¼ inch thick. 

Bake at 200° C. (350° F.) for 12–15 minutes.  Serves 4.