Scripture Daily

Context No. 2338 of 4322 · Tobit

Context · Reflection

Tobit 7:1-5: in context

1They came to Ecbatana, and arrived at the house of Raguel. But Sarah met them; and she greeted them, and they her. Then she brought them into the house. 2Raguel said to Edna his wife, “This young man really resembles Tobit my cousin!” 3And Raguel asked them, “Where are you two from, kindred?” They said to him, “We are of the sons of Naphtali, who are captives in Nineveh.” 4He said to them, “Do you know Tobit our brother?” They said, “We know him.” Then he said to them, “Is he in good health?” 5They said, “He is both alive, and in good health.” Tobias said, “He is my father.”

When Tobias arrives at the house of Raguel in a distant land, he and his companion are met with warm welcome. Sarah greets them and brings them into the house. Raguel, noticing that the young man resembles his kinsman Tobit, asks where they are from, and learns that Tobias is the son of his relative Tobit. He inquires eagerly after Tobit's health, glad to hear he is alive and well, and receives the travelers gladly as kin. The scene is one of warm hospitality, welcoming the travelers into the home with gladness.

The warmth of this welcome is worth noticing. Raguel and his household receive the travelers gladly, bringing them into the home, inquiring after them, delighting to discover the family connection. There is no reluctance, no grudging reception; the travelers are welcomed with warmth and gladness, received as kin, brought into the home and cared for. It is a picture of hospitality: the open-hearted welcoming of travelers and guests into our homes, receiving them with warmth and kindness. This holds up a virtue that Scripture repeatedly commends: hospitality, the welcoming of travelers, guests, and strangers into our homes with warmth and care. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, Hebrews urges; and there is a poignant fittingness here, for the companion traveling with Tobias, unknown to his hosts, was the angel Raphael. By this some, Hebrews says, have entertained angels without knowing it. Hospitality opens our homes and hearts to others, welcoming them with warmth, and in doing so honors and strengthens the bonds between people, and sometimes receives more than it knows. This calls us to the practice of hospitality, welcoming others into our homes and lives with warmth. In a world where people can be closed, guarded, reluctant to open their homes, the warm welcome of Raguel's household is a model: to receive travelers, guests, and strangers with gladness, to open our homes and hearts to them, to care for them, to strengthen the bonds of kinship and connection through hospitality. Given to hospitality, Paul says, describing the marks of the Christian life; and hospitality is a way of loving others in a concrete, welcoming way. This calls us to open our homes and hearts in hospitality. Raguel's household welcomed the travelers gladly, receiving them with warmth and care; and we too are called to the practice of hospitality, welcoming others into our homes and lives with gladness, receiving guests and strangers with warmth rather than reluctance, and honoring the bonds between people through the open-hearted welcome that hospitality offers. Let us not neglect hospitality, but open our homes and hearts to others as Raguel opened his, welcoming travelers, guests, and strangers with the warmth and gladness that this scene models, and that Scripture repeatedly commends, mindful that in showing hospitality we may receive more than we know.

Am I closed, guarded, or reluctant to open my home and heart to others, or can Raguel's household, who welcomed the travelers gladly and received them with warmth and care, together with Scripture's call not to neglect hospitality to strangers, through which some have entertained angels unknowingly, move me to the practice of hospitality, opening my home and heart to guests and strangers with warmth and gladness rather than reluctance, and honoring the bonds between people through the open-hearted welcome that hospitality offers?

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