One of the deepest longings of the human heart is to belong. Yet many people in our communities feel like outsiders. They walk our streets, work in our fields, or sit in our classrooms with a sense of distance. Sometimes they are foreigners from other nations, and sometimes they are neighbours whose culture feels different from our own. What if the very people we find “strange” are the ones through whom God wants to teach us love?
This is the Biblical call to Philoxenos. The Greek word literally means “love of the stranger,” from philos (loving) and xenos (foreigner or stranger) (Strong’s Concordance, G5382). Most modern translations render it simply as hospitality. Hebrews 13:2 reminds us, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realising it” (NLT). True hospitality is not only offering food or shelter to friends. It is embracing the unfamiliar with love.
Beyond Xenophobia
In my research for Reforming Worcester, I reflected on how philoxenos stands in stark contrast to xenophobia, which is defined as “fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign” (Merriam-Webster 2022). South Africa has seen outbreaks of xenophobic violence against foreigners, revealing how fragile our practice of hospitality can be. Yet the “stranger” in Scripture is not only the refugee or migrant. It is also the neighbour whose ways unsettle us (Guntelach 2023, 46–47).
A Xhosa family may find Afrikaner traditions foreign, just as an Afrikaner may find Xhosa practices strange. Food, humour, conflict styles, visiting customs (whether one expects an invitation or not), dress codes, and even time itself can be experienced differently. To practice philoxenos is to choose love in the midst of difference, whether the difference comes from another nation or simply another culture across the street.
Christine Pohl notes that biblical hospitality has always been about more than politeness. It is a radical, countercultural practice that makes room for the stranger and recognises them as bearing God’s image (Pohl 1999, 4–6). Jesus identifies Himself with the stranger: “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home” (Matt. 25:35, NLT). Hospitality is not optional. It is central to discipleship and a sign of God’s kingdom breaking into the world.
Practising Philoxenos
What might this look like in Worcester, or anywhere else? It may mean inviting a Zimbabwean neighbour for a meal, but it also means receiving an invitation from another South African, whose customs feel foreign to us. Loving the stranger includes appreciating, not merely tolerating, what is different. It could mean learning to laugh at a different sense of humour, to enjoy unfamiliar food, or to accept that while one culture values relationships more than punctuality, to another, bluntness may not necessarily mean disrespect.
Hospitality is not just about offering but also about receiving. To sit at another’s table, to taste their food, and to honour their way of life can be as powerful as giving. In this way, hospitality (Philoxenos) reshapes not only how we treat others but also how we allow others to treat us.
A Personal Challenge
Let us return to where we began. In every community, some people feel like outsiders. Some are new to our land, some are new to our culture, and some are simply different from us in ways that make us uncomfortable. Will we move toward them with love?
Paul’s words are simple, nonetheless demanding: “Always be eager to practise hospitality” (Rom. 12:13, NLT). Here is the question to carry with you this week: Who is the stranger in my life, and how can I love them in a practical way today?
References
Guntelach, Bruno. 2023. Reforming Worcester, South Africa: A Strategy to Establish
a Culture of Communal Productivity. Executive Master’s Thesis, University of
the Nations.
Merriam-Webster. 2022. “Xenophobia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/xenophobia.
Accessed 6 November 2022.
Pohl, Christine D. 1999. Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian
Tradition. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Strong’s Concordance. n.d. “Philoxenos.” Entry G5382. Accessed 19 August 2025.
The Holy Bible. New Living Translation, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale
House Foundation. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-Living-
Translation-NLT-Bible/. Accessed 19 August 2025.