Hebrews 13:1–3
7th Sunday after Trinity
Pastorin Kornelia Schauf
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.
Hebrews 13:1–3
Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison as if you were imprisoned with them, and those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are also in the body.
Dear congregation,
Only God truly knows who wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. What we do know is that it was written to a community that had grown weary. They had once been known for their remarkable love and care for others. They had endured great hardship, even the loss of their possessions. They had stood by those who were imprisoned, showing compassion and solidarity. But now they were asking themselves: How can we keep going? How are we supposed to carry on like this? Behind that question lies not only the fear of reaching the limits of human strength, but also the fear that faith itself may be fading.
Everything they are encouraged and urged to do in chapter 13 had already been part of their lives for a long time. Nothing here is new. What has changed is their energy, their passion, and their strength. Earlier in chapter 10 we hear these words: "Do not throw away your confidence." And again: "You need perseverance." Those words were important then, and they remain important today.
Perhaps some of us here this morning can relate. We may feel tired and exhausted. A faith that once felt vibrant now seems weak. We may find ourselves asking, How are we going to keep going? Exhaustion touches people at every stage of life, and it has become far more than an individual struggle. Around the world it is almost becoming the emotional background noise of our age. In Germany, for example, a representative survey found that 61% of employees consider themselves at moderate to high risk of burnout. Another family study found that 80% of young families feel overwhelmed by ongoing stress and daily pressures.
And this experience does not stop at national borders. According to an Ipsos World Mental Health Study, more than 70% of South Africans report having experienced levels of stress in recent years that they struggled to cope with. This is especially evident in the healthcare sector. At one of Johannesburg's largest hospitals, a recent study showed that more than half of the nursing staff displayed clear symptoms of burnout, including severe emotional exhaustion and the feeling that they simply could not give any more.
Perhaps there are people sitting here this morning who recognise themselves in these stories.
Young parents who delight in their children, yet sometimes wonder: When will I have a chance to catch my breath? How are we going to manage?
Or those who have faithfully served the church and this congregation throughout their lives. Much of it has been deeply meaningful, yet they may now ask: What will remain? What difference has it all made?
Even when we look at our own country, feelings of weariness can arise. Many who worked and sacrificed for a free South Africa now watch with deep sadness as xenophobia and violence force refugees and people seeking help from neighbouring countries to flee once again.
From time to time these challenges feel overwhelming. I imagine that this is how the Christians who first received the Letter to the Hebrews must have felt. Their greatest fear was probably this: Will we also be arrested? Will we be persecuted? Will even more be taken from us? It was a time when Christians faced real persecution.
Into that uncertainty, into that exhaustion, the unknown writer speaks these words once more:
Hebrews 13:1–3
Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison as if you were imprisoned with them, and those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are also in the body.
Remain in philadelphia; do not neglect philoxenia.
These two Greek words are worth pausing over. Philos describes the love that exists between people. It is different from eros, romantic love, and different from agape, God's unconditional love. Philadelphia is the love shared among brothers and sisters in the faith, while philoxenia means love for the stranger. Together they describe the heart of Christian community.
The Greek word adelphos means brother, but here it refers not to biological siblings but to fellow believers. Christian love reaches beyond our own families to embrace the family of faith - and then stretches even further to include the stranger.
Today we are much more familiar with the word xenophobia - the fear of strangers - than with philoxenia, the love of strangers. The two stand opposite one another like light and darkness.
The writer reminds us what lies at the very centre of the Christian faith: love for one another, love for family, love for fellow believers, and love for strangers. To make this point, he recalls familiar stories from Scripture. Some people, he says, have unknowingly welcomed angels into their homes. He is most likely referring to Abraham in Genesis 18. Abraham welcomed three unknown visitors near the oaks of Mamre, and through them received God's promise that he would become a father. His hospitality became the doorway through which Isaac's birth was announced.
Abraham's nephew Lot also welcomed angels into his home, and they later led him safely out of Sodom before its destruction.
According to the Letter to the Hebrews, hospitality is both love for our fellow believers and love for strangers. Hospitality opens the door to encounters with God. Whenever we are willing to open our homes and our hearts, we live with the promise that the stranger before us may, in some mysterious way, be an angel. Such encounters may deepen our understanding of God and of heaven itself.
The encouragement of this letter does not ignore the reality of exhaustion. Instead, it invites us to discover fresh strength and renewed hope through love. The writer understands that this congregation is tired. He names the struggles they face. He recognises their doubts and sees that their faith has become fragile. Yet he does not accuse them. He does not ask, "What has become of you?" Instead, he models exactly what he encourages them to do: Remain in love. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Remain in love—even now, when it feels difficult. Do not begin blaming one another or placing yourselves above one another. It is easy to hear comments such as: What do these young parents expect? We managed in our day. Or, from the other side: The older generation should stop complaining—they had their chance. Such attitudes are the opposite of brotherly and sisterly love.
And equally, do not look for scapegoats in society. How quickly strangers become the ones we blame. It is an ancient pattern that never leads to anything good. It leads only to hatred, exclusion, conflict, and suffering. Nowhere in history has driving strangers away created a better society.
Remain in love. Love does not ignore problems or pretend they do not exist. But love refuses to build its future on blame or scapegoats. Love creates a sense of we. It asks: How can we care for one another? How can we face difficult times together?Remember those who are imprisoned. Some of them were literally in prison—not because they had committed crimes, but because of their faith. To remember them as though we ourselves were imprisoned means recognising: It could just as easily have been me.
Remember those who are mistreated, because we too live in vulnerable human bodies. We too can be hurt. Solidarity means refusing to dismiss another person's suffering. It means standing alongside one another in love.
This is how we become the church, in both large and small ways. Our Scouts sell soup, we host Tischlein deck dich, our congregational festival, and our Christmas market. Hospitality is woven into the life of our congregation throughout the year. Yet sometimes hospitality is as simple as a conversation after the service, an invitation for coffee, or taking the time to listen to someone who feels like a stranger. Small gestures like these can have a profound impact.
Why do we do all these things? The answer is simple: because they show that we remain in love. They show that we trust that whenever we practise hospitality, we may discover that we have welcomed angels who open new possibilities and new hope for the future.May God continually renew our strength and courage to remain in love—for our brothers and sisters, for strangers, and for all people.And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.