Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:12-13)

Welcome to the Christmas season, where everything is merry and bright!  To many, this season represents fond memories, the coziness of family, and the joy of giving (and receiving, if we are honest!).

However, it would be far less merry and bright if God did not come in the form of a babe so long ago.  As the verse above says, we were separate…excluded…strangers.

A stranger to God.

The word for “stranger” in the verse above is xenos, and it is related to an extremely important concept in ancient Greece: xenia

Xenia and Xenos in the Mind of the Ancients

Xenia means guest-friendship, and was the code of hospitality across the Mediterranean.  We know from Abraham and Lot that hospitality was of an extreme importance in the Near East (Gen. 18:1-7 and 19:1-3, 6-8).  Although I don’t know if they necessarily had a specific word for it, we know they would have agreed with every bit of the Greek xenia.

As I said, the word xenia is related to the word xenos, which means both stranger and host.[1] This is because at some point you will be a stranger seeking shelter from a host; likewise, you will be a host, and take care of strangers.  Thus, xenia – a guest-friendship of hospitality between strangers and hosts.

The more humbler xenos would receive a place to stay and food.  But when a royal xenos came, great feasts and gift-exchanges would take place.[2]  It would be a parade of wealth as one nation made friends with another.

To flout xenia was the worst type of hubris and ate in the Greek mind.  In fact, it was the reason the Trojan War was seen as a necessity.  Sparta had welcomed the Trojan delegation as guest-friends, and the Trojans had responded with making off with the Spartan Queen.  It was absolutely, scandalously appalling for them to do such a deed, regardless of the woman’s acquiescence.[3]   Such a crime could not go unpunished.

How this Applies to Us

In Paul’s words above, we were “strangers [xenos] to the covenants of promise.”  We were xenos to God.

But we did not come to him as strangers.  Rather, He came to us.

God, in all His glory, came down in the form of a baby to strangers (xenos).  He came as xenos (stranger), to us, true strangers to Him. Like the royalty of old, He came in all His might to exchange gifts of wealth…and yet He wanted nothing we had to give.  He exchanged His Greatest Gift, his precious son, for a manger.  He exchanged His perfect life for our vile, wretched sins.

Because we were not very good xenos (hosts) in return, we could not make room for him, and he was born in a stable.  We could not stand His teachings, and He was crucified.

And yet come He did!  He made that trip from Heaven to Earth to be “brought near.”  He came so that we would not be xenos…but friends.

Rejoice this advent season!  Think on his coming – his advent.  Think of his lavish xenia – His friendship you do not deserve.  And think of that babe born in Bethlehem with awe and adoration.

 

Sources

[1] “Xenos,” Blue Letter Bible, accessed December 4, 2017 https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3581&t=NASB.

[2] Bettany Hughes, Helen of Troy: The Story Behind the Most Beautiful Woman in the World (New York: Vintage Books, 2005), 123.

[3] Ibid., 128.


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