Toward a Wider Hospitality: Rethinking Love of Neighbour in Religions of the Book

Abstract

This article argues that because hospitality—the gesture of welcoming the stranger—is a way of expressing the love found in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, it can provide a pivotal point from which a shared ethic of reciprocity can emerge. Hospitality is a bestowal of welcome that opens toward another as loved by God. But in the transaction a strange reversal occurs. The host who initially offers a gift to the guest ends up becoming blessed by the guest, receiving the presence of God. As boundaries are crossed, blessing leads to blessing in mutually enriching ways. Exploring this dynamic opens up fresh possibilities for understanding how the love of God is tied inseparably to the love of neighbour. It also helps address the collaborative vision recently expressed by Muslim leaders in A Common Word, for the praxis of hospitality holds out the promise of cultivating interfaith vistas of justice, reconciliation, and peace.