Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Kings 4:8–11, 14–16a; Romans 6:3–4, 8–11; Matthew 10:37–42
For many years I have traveled through different corners of Asia.
The Philippines. Indonesia. East Timor. Vietnam. Myanmar. China.
And again and again, I found a door open.
A meal was placed before me. A bed was prepared. A quiet corner was given. A “small roof chamber,” where a tired traveler could lay down and rest.
The generosity of Asian Catholics has often overwhelmed me.
The Bible knows this mystery well.
Abraham sees three strangers standing near his tent in the heat of the day.
He does not first ask their names. He does not ask what they can give him. He runs to them.
Water for their feet. Shade for their bodies. Bread for their journey.
Only later does he discover that in welcoming strangers, he has welcomed the Lord.
That is why the Letter to the Hebrews says:
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Hospitality was vital in the ancient Middle East. And it is still vital in today’s world.
For the stranger is far from home. The language is strange. The faces are unfamiliar. The road is long.
Then suddenly, a door opens. A table is set. A cup is offered. And a human voice says:
“You may rest here.”
I still remember a stranger riding his bicycle across Taiwan, caught in the winter wind and rain of the northern coast.
At midnight, he knocked at the door of our church in Ruifang.
The door was opened. A place was found for him to rest. A warm meal was prepared.
In my country we have a saying:
“A guest in the house, God in the house.”
In today’s first reading, the woman of Shunem does something similar for Elisha.
First, she gives him food.
Then, little by little, she makes room for him:
a bed, a table, a chair, a lamp.
Nothing grand. Nothing spectacular.
Only a room. Only a welcome. Only a place where a prophet of God can rest.
And she asks for nothing.
True hospitality begins there.
Not with calculation. Not with profit. Not with the question, “What will I receive?”
But with the simple recognition:
someone is tired, someone is hungry, someone needs a place.
Yet Jesus says:
“Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.”
The woman needs no money. No influence. No favor from the powerful.
But hidden beneath her quiet life there is an old wound.
She has no son. Her husband is old. Her dream has fallen silent.
Then the prophet speaks:
“At this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son.”
This is the secret of hospitality.
We think we are only opening a door for another.
But sometimes, through that same door, God brings back to us a forgotten blessing.
For the guest may need shelter.
But the host may need a miracle.
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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