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Hospitality
Begins by Making Room for Christ
1. Preparing a Room for the
Lord
Our first
reading introduces us to a woman from the town of Shunem. Whenever
the prophet Elisha passed through her town, she welcomed him into her home.
Eventually she said to her husband,
"Let
us prepare a little room for him."
Notice what
she includes.
A bed.
A table.
A chair.
A lamp.
Everything
needed for someone to feel at home.
She was not
simply furnishing a guest room.
She was
making room for God's servant.
She
understood that welcoming God's prophet meant welcoming God's presence.
That
beautiful image becomes the thread that runs through all of today's readings.
How do we
make room for God?
2. The Gift Is Small—The
Love Is Great
Jesus
answers that question in today's Gospel.
"Whoever
welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent
me."
Then He gives
one of the simplest examples imaginable.
"Whoever
gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my
disciple... will surely not lose his reward."
We sometimes
miss how ordinary that image would have sounded.
In the
ancient world, "cold water" simply meant ordinary water. It wasn't
refrigerated or luxurious. Jesus intentionally chooses the simplest act of
kindness.
God does not
first measure the size of the gift.
He measures
the love with which it is given.
Hospitality
begins with simple acts of love.
3. Preparing the Heart
Before Preparing the House
But today's
Gospel quietly asks another question.
If we
prepare rooms for guests...
do we
prepare our hearts for Christ?
Whenever
important visitors come to our homes, we usually prepare.
We clean the
house.
We
straighten the furniture.
We wash the
dishes.
We put
things back where they belong.
Not because
our guests demand perfection.
But because
they matter to us.
Every Mass
is also an encounter with Christ.
More than
that.
At every
Mass He gives Himself to us in the Holy Eucharist.
If we
prepare our homes for visitors, shouldn't we prepare our souls for Him?
That is one
of the beautiful purposes of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Confession
is not primarily about looking backward.
It is about
preparing for an encounter.
It is about
making room.
Making room
by letting go of resentment.
Making room
by confessing pride.
Making room
by surrendering selfishness.
Making room
by receiving God's mercy.
Confession
does not simply erase sin.
It enlarges
the heart.
It makes
room for Christ.
4. Learning Faith in
Everyday Life
Many years
ago, while I was in the seminary, one of my classmates shared something with me
that I have never forgotten.
He had to
have a very difficult conversation with someone.
Before he
went, he stopped to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Not because
he believed he was at fault.
He simply
said,
"I
wanted to have a clean heart."
I had never
heard anyone say that before.
I didn't
learn that lesson in a theology classroom.
I didn't
learn it from a homily.
I learned it
by watching another Christian quietly live his faith.
One of the
beautiful things about the Church is that we don't learn only from priests and
teachers.
We also
learn from one another.
Our example
often teaches more than our words.
5. Baptism Changes the Way
We Welcome Others
St. Paul
reminds us today that through Baptism we have died with Christ and risen with
Him.
We are
called to walk in
newness of life.
That new
life changes everything.
Even the
reason why we welcome other people changes.
The world
often practices hospitality because it hopes to receive something in return.
A better
reputation.
More
business.
Future
favors.
Good
reviews.
Christians
welcome others for a different reason.
We welcome
because Christ first welcomed us.
We forgive
because Christ first forgave us.
We love
because Christ first loved us.
Hospitality
is no longer a strategy.
It becomes
charity.
6. A Lesson from the World
Cup
Perhaps we
can see a small reflection of that this summer.
Because of
the FIFA World Cup, thousands of visitors have traveled throughout the United
States, Canada, and Mexico.
Some of the
most widely shared videos haven't even come from the soccer matches themselves.
They have
shown fans in the streets.
Scottish
supporters wearing kilts, playing bagpipes, singing, and dancing through the
streets of Boston.
Local
residents joining them.
Even police
officers smiling and dancing with them.
People enjoy
those videos because they reveal something that almost everyone desires.
People long
to feel welcomed.
Hospitality
speaks a universal language.
But today's
Gospel asks an even deeper question.
Not simply,
"How
do we welcome one another?"
But,
"How
do we welcome Christ?"
7. Humility Makes Room
C. S. Lewis
once wrote,
"Humility
is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less."
That insight
fits today's Gospel perfectly.
A proud
heart has very little room for anyone else.
A humble
heart always has room.
Room for
God.
Room for
family.
Room for
strangers.
Room for
those who are lonely.
Room for
those who have hurt us.
Room even to
pray for our enemies.
Humility
transforms hospitality into charity.
Without
humility, hospitality easily becomes self-promotion.
With
humility, it becomes an act of love.
8. Christ Is Knocking
The woman of
Shunem prepared a room with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp.
We prepare
our hearts through repentance.
We prepare
our souls through Confession.
We prepare
ourselves to receive Christ in Holy Communion.
Then the
Book of Revelation gives us one of the most beautiful images in all of
Scripture.
Jesus says,
"Behold,
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)
Isn't that
remarkable?
Jesus does
not force the door open.
He knocks.
Love always
knocks.
Love waits
to be welcomed.
God fills
the heart that makes room for Him.
May we open
that door through repentance.
May we
welcome Him with humility.
May we receive
Him with joy in the Holy Eucharist.
And may His
Kingdom come, His will be done, beginning first in our own hearts.
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