“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” Matthew 10:40
Today, I’m reminded of the term, “entertaining angels.” Typically, it’s a reference to Abraham’s encounter with the three unexpected strangers in Genesis, welcoming them into his home only to discover that they were divine messengers that blessed his home with news of Sarah’s pending pregnancy. It’s also a term that originates in the Letter to the Hebrews as a warning not to neglect hospitality to strangers. For contemporary audiences, one may be familiar with the concept by way of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. In the film’s prologue, the prince turned away the old beggar woman who came offering him a rose, only to be cursed and turned into the beast. Overall, the idea is the same – always be willing to offer hospitality as you never know the difference that it could it make in one’s life. In the eyes of God, we never go wrong by offering hospitality; it’s always a blessing.
By extending hospitality, we extend grace to others, but we also receive so much more. To others, we show how every stranger is a child of God, a person with dignity, and for we, who extend the hospitality, we’re reminded how God often mysteriously works through ordinary, unexpected individuals. Therefore, hospitality is an act of true discipleship; it’s one of the greatest acts of love that we can offer another, and in turn, we will always find some grace – maybe not right away, but eventually, we will, even if it’s simply the treasure that we store up in heaven. In today’s Gospel, Jesus then reminds us that in welcoming others into our lives, we’re welcoming him – his love, his blessing, his grace. This week, the Church remembers the likes of the Apostles – Saint Peter, Saint Thomas, and even Saint Paul, all disciples who offer us a good example of both receiving and offering hospitality and the graces associated with such actions. Let us then ask for the intercession of the apostles so that our hearts can not only grow in charity but in the spirit of welcoming one another – moreover, welcoming one another into a relationship with Christ – after all, it all begins with those seeds of love and hospitality that we plant in the hearts of others. Saint Peter, Paul and Thomas pray for us.
In Christ
Fr Robert