Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do
not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people
have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue
to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison,
and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. (Hebrews 13:1-3)
Loving
one another as brothers and sisters, huh? I get along pretty well with my
sister, but my brother and I were… well, let’s put it this way. One day I
pulled into the garage with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture blaring on my stereo.
He happened to pull in right after I did. I don’t remember what song he was
playing, but it was Rock. I’m not saying anything against Rock, but I prefer classical
to it. Roy and I were opposites and often didn’t get along very well and that’s
not atypical for siblings. So when the author of Hebrews says we’re to love one
another as brothers and sisters, I don’t picture fond but vacuous smiles. It’s
more like bared teeth, first at the sibling, and then at anyone who says
something about that sibling, or maybe we’d even agree with the “anyone.”
Love
of a brother or sister isn’t usually because we think the person is wonderful. We
know better. We’ve been there when they did something stupid, thoughtless,
hateful, or whatever. It’s love in spite of. And related to the “love in spite
of” is the fact that we don’t choose our siblings. I see memes now and again
about how family is the people you choose to have part of your life, not your biological
relatives, because biological relatives can hurt. I understand that, but that’s
sort of the whole point. Family isn’t the people we pick – it’s the people we’re
stuck with.
That covers those who are known to us. Next, the author addresses the question of our
treatment of those we don’t know. Hospitality used to be a big thing. You not
only took care of the needs of your guests, you also protected them. That
explains why a couple guys in the Old Testament offered up family members and/or
slaves to mobs who threatened their guests. The guest had to be protected. I’m
not saying I agree with the strategy, but when something is that important to
you you make bad decisions and worse sacrifices. The writer isn’t talking about
our doing that. He just reminds his readers of something that is standard
operating procedure. Be kind to strangers. Love “us,” and be hospitable to “them,”
because you never know: they could be God’s messengers (AKA: angels.)
The
third group may be the hardest. Treat those in prison and those who are being
mistreated as you would want to be treated if you were in their places. Now, I’m
not an expert in the Jewish or Roman legal systems, According to one sources,
during the Roman Imperial period, capital punishment could be used for “treason,
murder, adultery, libel, robbery, and arson.” (https://drivethruhistoryadventures.com/roman-capital-punishment/). Depending on the criminal and the victim, rape
could also result in death. For slaves and non-citizens, still more crimes
could be punished by death, even without the involvement of the courts. I don’t
think those found guilty of those crimes were the prisoners being discussed.
There were other classes of
criminals. One was the debtor, who would languish in prison until the debt was
paid. Another was the political prisoner. A third group in that category would have
been those who were in prison because of their Christian beliefs. Now, I could
be wrong about some of this. Jesus forgave the thief on the cross. He used Saul
even though Saul approved of the killing of Christians. I’m not going to say
you shouldn’t care for serial killers and rapists – I think we should care for
them, but if that’s beyond your capacity, there are others with whom you can
probably empathize better. Start with them. The point isn’t to claim that they aren’t
guilty, but to treat even them like human beings created in the image of God,
and therefore deserving to be treated with dignity.
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