Hospitality as a Spiritual Practice

A short reflection on Greek and Hebrew practices

Hospitality is a spiritual art.

In a world of back porches and doom-scrolling, the ancient practice of hospitality can radically transform your life—and your community.

From Zeus overseeing guest-friendship in the Homeric epics, to Abraham welcoming angels, to Benedictine monks receiving the guest as Christ, the art of hospitality forges relations amongst humans and with the divine.

The home becomes part of a sacred ritual, a place of peace and new friendships.

Discover how Homer, Scripture, and Christian tradition call you to this beautiful spiritual discipline—and learn simple ways to begin practicing it today.

Your next act of hospitality could change your life.

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Hospitality Amongst the Ancient Greeks

One of the clearest signs that a people were civilized amongst the ancient Greeks was the practice of guest-friendship (xenia). It was a sacred ritual, overseen by Zeus, that protected both the guest and host—and built bonds of friendship and peace. To wit, a guest would arrive at the house of his host, the host would welcome him without even asking his name or purpose, bathe him, clothe him, and feast him. The host cared for his guest as if it were a god in disguise. In the Odyssey, this scene is played out many times, as Telemachus is welcomed by Nestor and then by Menelaus, and Odysseus is welcomed by King Alcinous.

Only after the guest had been welcomed and cared for would the host ask the guest his name and purpose. Here, you can see that xenia is reciprocal to a degree or rather the guest has a proactive role in this sacred, civilizing ritual. The guest would state his name and tell his story. With Telemachus, for example, he speaks about his efforts to discover news about his father, Odysseus, and with Odysseus the great storyteller recounts his adventures from Troy until the island of the Phaeacians. To a certain degree, the guest takes on the role of the bard being both entertainment and revealing the will of the gods. The host would then give “guest-gifts” to his guest to help him in his purpose.

The Ritual of Guest-Friendship and Piety

The ritual of xenia is deeply tethered to the concept of piety. For the ancient Greeks (and for the West until at least St. Thomas Aquinas), piety represented a gratitude for an unpayable debt. And this gratitude was threefold: a piety toward your parents, a piety toward your polis (homeland), and a piety toward the divine. It was these three that nurtured you in a common good—the family, the political, and the cosmic—long before you could even contribute. In fact, for the ancients, becoming a man included finally being able to contribute toward the common good that nourished you. It was a duty.

And the hierarchy of piety must remain in order—with gratitude due first to the gods, then the polis, and then the parents. Many of the Greek tragedies, like the Oresteia or Antigone, play with the tension between these three layers and what happens if they become disordered. The ritual of guest-friendship is a sign of civilization, because it incorporates all three levels of piety—particularly toward the gods.

Xenia is overseen by the gods, particularly Zeus, and the host and guest play their roles in fear of the gods. Notice that in xenia both the host and guest display an openness and vulnerability; thus, if either violates the ritual and acts unjustly, it is the divine that will punish them. For example, when Odysseus washes up on the shore of Phaeacia, he tests the local women to see if they are civilized by referencing the gods.

Also, recall that the entire Trojan war was precipitated by Paris violating guest-friendship by absconding with his host’s wife, Helen. When Menelaus and Paris duel before the walls of Troy, Menelaus asks Zeus to grant him victory so the world can see what happens to those who violate xenia.

In the famous scene of Odysseus and the cyclops in Book IX of the Odyssey, Odysseus and the cyclops become a perversion of guest-friendship—where the cyclops as the host does not feast his guest but feasts upon them. Odysseus, playing the role of the guest, tells the cyclops his name is “Nobody,” a deceit toward his host, and his host gives him the “guest-gift” of being eaten last.

Xenia requires vulnerability on the part of the host and guest, and it is fear of the gods, piety, that governs it.

Guest-Friendship in Christianity

The ancient Hellenistic practice of guest-friendship has parallels in the Old Testament as well. You could recall the story of Abraham welcoming the three angelic strangers (Gen 18:1-15), the story of Sodom and the angelic visitors who come to Lot’s house (Gen 19:1-11), the angelic stranger who shares a meal with Samson’s parents (Judges 13), or that Job claims he never let a stranger sleep on the street (Job 31:32). Similarly to the ancient Greeks with the gods, the Old Testament presents that the strangers who need your hospitality may be angels—an observation St. Paul makes in the Book of Hebrews: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb 13:2).

In the New Testament, you could see parallels with the famous road to Emmaus narrative, especially since they welcome in the Christ-stranger and only see Him for who He is in the breaking of the bread, a Eucharistic image (Luke 24:13-35). Another good example would be the famous parable of Matthew 25, in which God separates the sheep from the goats (saved from the damned) based on how they treated those in need, including the stranger. Finally, the New Testament exhorts Christians to be hospitable on several occasions (Rom 12:13; I Peter 4:9; Titus 1:7-8).

The practice of hospitality in the Church is probably best seen in the practices of the Benedictine monks who welcome each guest to the monastery as Christ. He is welcomed in honor with usually the Abbot washing his hands or feet before the guest is permitted to eat with the monks—being served by the monks as well.

Practicing the Spirituality of Hospitality

Christianity draws from both Greek and Hebrew culture, and the New Testament exhorts Christians to be hospitable. Hospitality should be seen as a spiritual practice, as it demands virtue on part of the host and guest. The host is willing to be inconvenienced and to place their wealth and time in the service of others. The guest is willing to receive this in gratitude and humility, and then to repay the host with opening up about who they are and what they aim to do in life.

Hospitality is an art, a spiritual art that makes the home a place where friendships are forged and communities are founded. It draws the host out of himself and detaches him from his goods—placing them in service to higher ends. Moreover, in both the Greek and Hebrew side, the stranger is welcomed as divinity—and in Christianity this continues as the guest being welcomed as Christ.

What are some ways you practice hospitality?

How can you better use hospitality to build the community around you?

Hospitality is another way to ascend, to be Christ-like. Explore it!

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Dcn. Harrison Garlick is a deacon, husband, father, Chancellor, and attorney. He lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He is also the host of Ascend: The Great Books Podcast. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.