A Midsummer's Reflection Series

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Meditation 4: Exodus 22:21; 23:9, Leviticus 19:33-34, & Deuteronomy 10:19 

By the Seine, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Paris, May-July 1887

These four passages from the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy all emphasize the same basic point. God was instructing His people Israel to do “no wrong” nor to “oppress” any foreigner in their midst (Exod. 22:21; 23:9; Lev. 19:33). God’s command goes even further in instructing Israel to “love” the foreigner or sojourner among Israel (Deut. 10:19) and, in fact, to “love him as yourself” (Lev. 19:34).

This sounds a lot like Jesus’ teaching to “love your neighbor as yourself” (e.g., Matt. 22:39). Exodus 22 likewise mentions that orphans and widows specifically should not be mistreated. These are important and strong words we find in the Old Testament. 

The reasons provided for these commands are that the Lord is God, and that Israel was a stranger when they were in the land of Egypt, from where God recently liberated them. The examples set before us remind us that we should do good not only to those of “our group” but to others in our midst—those we might consider part of “another group,” or, in some way, outsiders. We are to “love” them as we love ourselves. This is not only Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels but is already found in the Old Testament, in Leviticus 19.  

Hospitality is something to be extended to relatives and friends, and to strangers who have done something kind to us. However, we should remember that hospitality is also to be lived with others who may feel left out. The strangers or foreigners in our midst, the outsiders (those with whom we don’t typically associate), and visitors are all worthy of our hospitality.  

Jesus, help us to be welcoming to others, even those with whom we don’t usually associate. Help everyone who encounters us to find a warm and welcoming greeting, such that they would recognize we are your ambassadors, that we are welcoming them as you desire us to do, and, by doing that, help the strangers in our midst find your love extended through our hospitality.

Dr. Jeffrey Morrow, Ph.D. is a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and the Director of the St. Paul Studies Center at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He spent 15 years as a professor of theology at Seton Hall University’s Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. In his final year in that role, Dr. Morrow worked on the Preaching as Hospitality Formation Program, writing these reflections on Scripture through a lens of hospitality. 

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