The Parable of the Rich Fool (12:13-21) looks at the act of charity in a slightly different way. When the commandment ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ (10:27) is analyzed closely, what we get out of it is, that anything that you do for your neighbor you are also doing for God. The Parable of the Rich Fool sees a wealthy land owner collecting up stores full of grain and other crops. Rather than spreading the great amount of wealth (in sustenance) that he has, he hoards it all to himself. God reminds us that every day on this earth is a gift and we do not know when our day to depart will come. People who are rich and keep it to themselves are not being ‘rich with God’. This demonstration of greed is definitely not an act of charity.
This is also the case in The Rich Man and Lazarus where the rich man gets his rewards by being buried in the fires of Hades. He too refused to give Lazarus even the scraps from his table. Lazarus is pitied and he is saved in death by being taken to be with Abraham and the angels in heaven. The rich man refused to share with his brother Lazarus (as we are all brothers in the eyes of God) and consequently, this act of inhospitality is duly rewarded. ‘The rich man is condemned because Lazarus lives and dies in the absence of hospitality that could have saved him’(Paez, p.5).
Refusing to reach out to the outcasts, the poor and the needy, when you are in excess of food or other basic supplies is like starving God when you have the ability to sustain him. The rich fool is chastised by God saying ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores things up for himself but is not rich towards God’ (Lk. 12:20-21).
The rich fool, ‘ like the affluent gourmet in The Rich Man and Lazarus had lost the capacity to be concerned for other people. He was interested only in himself and his death was the final stage in losing his soul. He had withdrawn from real life. His soul had become enclosed within the hard shell of selfishness to such an extent that it had been stifled’ (Armstrong, 1967, p.145).
In comparison to this, if we look at Zacchaeus the Tax Collector (19:1-10) we see what happens when the real sinners do repent to God and ask for his salvation. Zacchaeus is a tax collector who is guilty of stealing from people by taking higher taxes than necessary. He does the opposite of the rich men in the previous parables by repenting to Jesus and offering to pay back any taxes that were overpaid with interest, as well as giving half of his possessions to the poor. This is the extreme act of charity, and hospitality in comparison to the others. This clearly demonstrates the consequences of giving to your neighbor as Jesus says to Zacchaeus, ‘ Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost’ (19:9-10).
This is a precise example of how the central theme of hospitality exemplifies the soul purpose of Jesus’ mission.
Luke has portrayed people with money and power in a negative light, though in their own social world they would have been the recipients of honor and respect. Toll-Collectors on the other hand, though despised in their social world, are presented positively in Luke’s narrative. Although Zacchaeus is ‘wealthy,’ he does not fit the profile we have come to associate with the rich in Luke’s gospel; he does not enjoy relationships of reciprocity among the respectable of his community, nor does he find wealth a source of security apart from God (Green, 1995, p.86).
These are just a few examples of how the act of charity exemplifies the mission of Jesus through the theme of hospitality.
Another major theme that coincides with the theme of hospitality is the metaphor of meals and banquets throughout the entire Gospel of Luke. It was not only a time for eating, but a social event that developed status and showed the hospitable nature of the host. As Green points out, ‘the sharing of food encoded messages about hierarchy, inclusion and exclusion, boundaries and crossing boundaries. Who ate with whom, where one sat in relation to whom at the table- such questions as these were charged with social meaning at the time of Jesus and Luke. As a consequence, to refuse table fellowship with people was to ostracize them and treat them as outsiders’(p.87).
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is constantly seen at the table of sinners, outcasts, tax collectors and women. This was looked on negatively from the authorities and people of higher social status, such as the Pharisee’s and doctors of the Law. In this then we see Jesus play both host and guest to the people on his journey. In the story, Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-two, we witness Jesus teaching the disciples the values of hospitality and how to be a hospitable guest when he says ‘when you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you’(10:8-9). By this, Jesus makes clear what it means to receive hospitality and also, how to be hospitable in return.
We see this in the story of Martha and Mary (10:38-42), Jesus is welcomed to dine with the women, he accepts the invitation and initially plays the role of the guest. When he arrives, Martha occupies herself in the kitchen, preparing the meal as Mary sits at his feet to listen to what he has to say.
This is where we see the marginalization of women in the context of the story. As has been stated, “Rather should the words of the Torah be burnt than entrusted to a woman… whoever teaches his daughter the Torah is like one who teaches her lasciviousness” (Rabbi Eliezer, 1st century BCE). From this statement we can see that the education of women was not seen as important in this era. Women were very much the lower class, with no rights or privileges, yet we see Jesus again, embracing the women (outcast) in this story as he speaks to them.
Martha complains to Jesus, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all of the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (10:40), and rather than agree with her Jesus surprises Martha with his answer that Mary has chosen the better thing to do. We see a transition from guest to host here in Jesus, in that he comes into the house for a meal, and ends up teaching the two sisters the ministry of God. ‘There are clear instructions that the hospitality offered to the itinerant preacher is not to be so attentive to food that the Word of God is not welcomed’(Paez, p.5).
Martha, in cooking and preparing the meal she acts as the host and is undoubtedly being hospitable, but she misses the point of hospitality. Mary on the other hand, chooses to sit at Jesus feet and listen to him preach about salvation and liberation of God. She then, is the example of the perfect host, as she listens, she finds sustenance in Jesus’ words and thus shows a deeper understanding of what it means to be hospitable. ‘Mary was attentive to what Jesus was saying…her posture is that of a disciple. Jesus encourages Mary to learn, and this is significant since the Jewish teachers of the time were generally opposed to explaining the law to women’ (Paez, p7).
When Jesus says ‘Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her’ (10:42) he is saying that although it is important to be sustained with food, it is better to listen to God and find sustenance in him first, and then worry about everything else.
As in the Parable of the Sower, Jesus reiterates the importance of listening as an example of hospitality, when he says ‘the seed that fell among thorns, stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature’(8:14).
In the story, Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman (7:36-50) the theme of hospitality is central in alliance with the metaphor of dining when we see Jesus welcomed into the house of leading Pharisee, Simon. Being of high social status, this demonstrates that Jesus did not only seek out the minorities and outcasts, but that he dined with everyone, regardless of where their place was in society. Simon fails to act hospitably when Jesus enters the house, ‘ he does not wash Jesus’ feet, he fails to greet him with a kiss, he does not anoint his head with oil’ (Byrne, 2000, p73). A woman of considerably lower status (a public sinner), enters the house uninvited and starts to lavish the hospitality that Simon should have on Jesus. ‘She brought an alabaster jar of perfume… she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them’(7:38).
She shows the ultimate expression of love in this hospitable act and in turn is forgiven for her sins. ‘The sinful woman becomes the real example of hospitality who welcomes Gods gift of forgiveness, contrasted to hospitality offered by the Pharisee who rejects Jesus as the eschatological prophet. Simon assumes that if Jesus were a prophet, he would know about the sinful woman and not allow her to touch him’ (Paez, p.6). This clearly shows how Jesus welcomes all who are willing to learn about salvation and ask for forgiveness of their sins. These acts of hospitality are central to Jesus’ ministry of preaching salvation and liberation from sin.
The Parable of the Great Banquet also shows the central theme of hospitality as central to Jesus mission as he tells of the man who creates a feast only to have his invitation turned down by many. He opens his house to the down trodden and offers the feast to those who will come and be happy to dine with him. “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame… I tell you not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet’(14:21, 24).
This verse is a clear metaphor for the banquet of God. God offers the opportunity for salvation to any person who asks for it. He will forgive all sins of the most terrible sinners if they want to repent and be welcomed into the kingdom of God. The men who did not accept the invitation in this story, represent those who hear the word of God, but turn away from it, failing to accept the salvation and invitation to God’s Kingdom. This open hospitality to the poor, crippled, lame and blind shows that they who come to the table and take part in the banquet of God will be offered salvation and a place in heaven. The hospitality shown in this story sends a clear message supporting the mission and ministry of Jesus.
In The Last Supper, we see Jesus alternate between guest and host as he holds a feast for his disciples. The ritualized breaking of bread and wine and sharing it with his friends is indicative of his sharing the community of faith and the fellowship of his table, extending his hospitality to his guests. This represents an invitation of the people to go out and spread the Salvation of God, continuing on the mission that Jesus did. Paez states in his article, ‘He had said at the last supper that He would not share food with his disciples until God’s kingdom came (22:16,18). Now by sharing food with them, He shows that God’s kingdom has indeed come… All of this happens to them because they have been hospitable and they have responded to the visit of God in Jesus Christ
The Parable of the Lost Coin, Sheep and Son (15:1-32) all send out the same message, that it is never too late to ask for forgiveness and be welcomed to the table of God. It plays again, on this idea of the ‘lost and found’ and as can be seen, especially in the Parable of the Lost Son. The son who squanders his half of the family property end up on the ground scratching for food with swine. ‘As a swineherd his degradation was complete, for feeding pigs, considered ritually unclean, put a Jew ‘beyond the pale’. No detail could indicate more completely how ‘lost’ he was- lost to religious, racial and family loyalties’ (Armstrong, 1967, p. 171).
The theme of hospitality is shown in the father as he accepts his son home after he repents his sins and asks for forgiveness. Likened to Zacchaeus, the son is rewarded by salvation and welcome into the kingdom of God. ‘Thus, in receiving and welcoming sinners, Jesus makes real once again God’s love and kindness toward the rejected, the ostracized and the sinners’ (Paez, p.9).
It is clearly demonstrated through the use of several minor themes, that the major theme of hospitality is addressed in the Gospel according to St. Luke. The act of charity and expression of love are heavily integrated into the stories that have been examined as they show one way that Luke teaches the theme of hospitality through the Acceptance of Outcasts and minorities. Alternatively, themes of forgiveness and repentance join together with the Mission and Ministry of Jesus to proclaim the salvation of God, showing another way that Luke teaches hospitality. Through the metaphor of meals and banquets we can relate the latter themes with the notion that it is never too late to come to Him and be welcomed at the Banquet of God. Finally we have looked into the idea of playing host, and it would be fair to state that ‘Luke’s concern, shown in the special material, is to emphasize that societal outcasts (including women) would serve as the best hosts to God’s messengers because they, more than others, were ready to accept Jesus’ banquet invitation’. Through the theme of hospitality, Jesus ‘challenges the existing exclusivism based on rules of purity and selfish interests of a people closed in their own world’ (Paez, p11).
REFERENCES:
Armstrong, E. A. 1967, The Gospel Parables, Sheed And Ward, New York, pp.145, 164.
Byrne, Brendan. 2000, The Hospitality of God: A Reading of Luke’s Gospel, St. Pauls Publications, NSW, pp. 73-76.
Cassidy, Richard J. 1983, ‘Luke’s Audience, the Chief Priests, and the Motive for Jesus’ Death’ in Political Issues in Luke-Acts, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, N.Y., p.146.
‘Gospel According to St. Luke’, 1996, Holy Bible, New International Version, Zondervan Bible Publishers, Michigan.
Green, Joel B. 1995, The Theology of the Gospel of Luke, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 86, 94.
Undated, ‘Liberating Hospitality’, Krysallis Website, [Online] Available: [13 May].
Paez, Delmar A. S. undated, ‘The Missionary Dimension of Hospitality in the Third Gospel’. [Online] Available: [ 12th May].
Seim, Turid K. 1994, The Double Message: Patterns of Gender in Luke-Acts, Abingdon Press, Nashville, p. 3.
