"Love for one another," or "brotherly love" in the King James Version, is a rendering of the Greek word philadelphia, which we know means "brotherly love" because we know of the great city in Pennsylvania and an earlier one in Revelation 3:7. Phila is a form of a Greek word for "love" and adelphia is a form of the noun for "brother" or "sibling." In the Greek text, the word philadelphia jumps out at us because of its familiar sound.

But the list concludes (v. 13) with an even more striking word, for which "hospitality" seems too tame a translation. The word is philoxenia, which jumps off the page because of its strange sound. Philo, again, is from the word for "love," but xenia is related to the word xenos, which means "stranger" or "alien" (cp. Matthew 25:35, Acts 17:21).

What fascinating bookends to this list describing the Christian life: philadelphia and philoxenia—love the sibling and love the alien. The King James Version translates this whole list as one sentence beginning with "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love" and ending with "given to hospitality."

"Hospitality," however, seems a fairly sanitized rendering of philoxenia, which suggests love for the alien. Fortunately, this cage-rattling idea of loving the alien is acknowledged in the New Revised Standard Version, which renders verse 13: "extend hospitality to strangers." The only other use of philoxenia in the New Testament is Hebrews 13:2, where we are exhorted to "show hospitality to strangers" because by doing this "some have entertained angels without knowing it." Almost every English translation affirms the "stranger" idea in Hebrews 13:2. But somehow in Romans 12:13 it is usually lost.

Clement, a Christian writer who wrote shortly after Paul's time, uses the word philoxenia. In 1 Clement 10-12 we read that he commended Abraham's hospitality to foreigners along his journey (Genesis 12), Lot's hospitality to angels (Genesis 19), and Rahab's hospitality to Joshua's spies (Joshua 2). The consistent point of philoxenia was caring for the alien, the one who is very different from you.

Perhaps I should apologize because this study is rather more technical than previous "Alien files" columns. But this is the last "Alien file," and they all come down to this point: Christians are called to love the alien. Paul's list in Romans 12:10-13 does not let us off the hook with being nice to our family and friends. "Philadelphia," brotherly love, is very good, but philoxenia is just as much the order of the day.

Does your church have a Hospitality Committee? Would this insight into philoxenia stretch your ideas about the ministry of hospitality? Does your church cater only to people who are already like you? How well prepared are you to love the alien? Xenophilia is a real word in English, though rarely used. Sadly, we hear more about xenophobia. Would you serve on the church's Xenophile Committee?