2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16A
Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Matthew 10:37-42

Hospitality

One of the main themes for Sunday’s readings is hospitality. The first reading is about the Shunammite Woman, who with no expectation of a reward, opens her home to the stranger and offers to share her material possessions with him. She welcomes the prophet Elisha into her home and treats him with thoughtfulness and generosity and sees to his physical needs.  

Who are the strangers today and how do we welcome them into our lives? The stranger can take many forms. We sometimes consider people strangers when they are foreign to us in some way, when we consider them outsiders rather than those who belong to our inner circle of family, friends, or colleagues. We may even apply the term stranger to someone who has beliefs or practices far different than our own, someone with whom we believe we have nothing in common. Today, immigrants are a prime example 0f those who suffer because they are thought of as strangers. How open are we to inviting people into our lives who are different from us, who are thought of as strangers?  

We often find individuals in our society today who are indifferent to the needs of others, to social injustices, to accelerating violent behaviors, to environmental disasters, and other kinds of human problems. They have no sense of responsibility for others, but the stories like the Shunammite Woman tell us differently.  We are told that we are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers.  We do have a responsibility for our world and all the creatures in it.

When we reflect on the gospel for Sunday, Jesus makes inclusiveness and welcoming the other a clear demand.  He says, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

The call to be a follower of Jesus underlines the necessity to choose to live life with our whole heart just as Jesus did. Choosing life with Christ means that every relationship we have must be understood from a new perspective. We must believe that every person is made in the image and likeness of God, is always loved by God and is accepted as a child of God. That includes us and every other person we meet each day of our lives. Obviously, this means we accept and treat everyone as Jesus did – including the stranger.

In what ways do you offer hospitality to others beyond your own family and friends?

How can you become more aware of and respond to the needs of immigrants newly arrived in our city?