Hospitality as Sacred Duty

Genesis 18:1-5

“The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre as he sat in the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, 'If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.'”

Abraham's hospitality to divine visitors

Quran 51:24-27

“Has there come to you the story of the honored guests of Abraham? When they entered upon him and said, 'Peace.' He said, 'Peace.' He said, 'Surely you are a people unknown to me.' And he turned to his family and brought out a fat [roasted] calf and placed it before them, saying, 'Will you not eat?'”

Islamic tradition of guest-right (diyafa)

Taittiriya Upanishad 1:11:2

“'Atithi Devo Bhava'—The guest is God. Welcome the guest with water, with food, with kind words and a true heart. The one who honors the guest honors the Divine, for in each visitor dwells an aspect of the Eternal.”

Guest as divine in Hindu philosophy

Dhammapada 224

“Whoever gives food and shelter to monks does great merit. Whoever speaks kindly to the wanderer who comes to the door has attained great virtue. Such generosity creates streams of merit that flow through all one's lives.”

Dana (generosity) to monks as spiritual practice

Guru Granth Sahib, Var of Sarang

“In the Gurdwara, the Guru's kitchen (langar) feeds all equally—rich and poor, high and low, of all faiths and nations. This is the embodiment of Guru's grace and the equality of all souls before God.”

Sikh langar as communal hospitality

Ruth 2:8-10

“Boaz said to Ruth, 'Now listen, my daughter. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.'”

Boaz's kindness to the foreigner Ruth