Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 06-25-05

June 25, 2005
Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Psalm: Saturday 28

Reading I
Gn 18:1-15

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the Terebinth of Mamre,
as Abraham sat in the entrance of his tent,
while the day was growing hot.
Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby.
When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them;
and bowing to the ground, he said:
"Sir, if I may ask you this favor,
please do not go on past your servant.
Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet,
and then rest yourselves under the tree.
Now that you have come this close to your servant,
let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves;
and afterward you may go on your way."
The men replied, "Very well, do as you have said."

Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah,
"Quick, three measures of fine flour!
Knead it and make rolls."
He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer,
and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.
Then Abraham got some curds and milk,
as well as the steer that had been prepared,
and set these before them;
and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.

They asked him, "Where is your wife Sarah?"
He replied, "There in the tent."
One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year,
and Sarah will then have a son."
Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years,
and Sarah had stopped having her womanly periods.
So Sarah laughed to herself and said,
"Now that I am so withered and my husband is so old,
am I still to have sexual pleasure?"
But the LORD said to Abraham: "Why did Sarah laugh and say,
‘Shall I really bear a child, old as I am?'
Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do?
At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you,
and Sarah will have a son."
Because she was afraid, Sarah dissembled, saying, "I didn't laugh."
But he replied, "Yes you did."

Responsorial Psalm
Luke 1:46-47, 48-49, 50 and 53, 54-55

R. (see 54b) The Lord has remembered his mercy.
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
"For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name."
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
"He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty."
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
"He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever."
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.

Gospel
Mt 8:5-17

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."
He said to him, "I will come and cure him."
The centurion said in reply,
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,' and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
"Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."
And Jesus said to the centurion,
"You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you."
And at that very hour his servant was healed.

Jesus entered the house of Peter,
and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her,
and she rose and waited on him.

When it was evening, they brought him many
who were possessed by demons,
and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:

He took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.

From: Genesis 18:1-15

The Apparition of God at Mamre

[1] And the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat
at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. [2] He lifted up his eyes
and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them,
he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth,
[3]and said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by
your servant. [4] Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and
rest yourselves under the tree, [5] while I fetch a morsel of bread, that
you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on--since you have
come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." [6] And Abraham
hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three
measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes. [7] And Abraham ran to the
herd, and took a calf, tender and good and gave it to the servant, who
hastened to prepare it. [8] Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which
he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree
while they ate.

Isaac's Birth is Promised

[9] They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in
the tent." [10a] The Lord said, "I will surely return to you in the spring,
and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent
door behind him. [11] Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it
had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. [12] So Sarah laughed
to herself, saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I
have pleasure?" [13] The Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and
say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' [14] Is anything too
hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the
spring, and Sarah shall have a son." [15] But Sarah denied, saying, "I did
not laugh"; for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."

Commentary:

18:1-19:38. These two episodes--God's appearance to Abraham at Mamre and the
destruction of Sodom--form a single account. Once again we can see the sort
of relationship that obtains between God and Abraham; this time, what is
emphasized is not just the promise of a son for Sarah, but also the
patriarch's intercession on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. This intercession
saves Lot and his family (cf. 19:29). Thus, Abraham is already a blessing
for all the descendants of Lot. This narrative is quite colorful, and
includes some curious little details--making it one of the most popular
passages in the story of the patriarchs.

18:1-15. This new appearance of God to Abraham is somewhat mysterious: the
three men stand for God. When Abraham speaks to them, sometimes he addresses
them in the singular (as if there were one person there: cf. v. 3), and
sometimes in the plural (as if there were three: cf. v. 4). That is why some
Fathers interpreted this appearance as an early announcement of the mystery
of the Holy Trinity; others, following Jewish tradition (cf. Heb 13:2) take
these personages to be angels. The sacred text says that one of the three
men (Yahweh, apparently) stays with Abraham (cf. v. 22), while the other
two, who are referred to as angels, go to Sodom (cf. 19:1). Although the
early chapters of Genesis do not expressly talk about the creation of
angels, that creation can be read into the word "heavens" in Gen 1:1: "at
the beginning of time, God created out of nothing both types of creatures,
spiritual and corporeal, that is, angelic and earthly," says Lateran Council
IV ("De Fide Catolica"). In Holy Scripture angels are mentioned as being
servants and messengers of God, and, despite the way they are sometimes
described, such as in this passage, they should be understood as being
purely spiritual, personal and immortal creatures, endowed with intelligence
and will. "Angels have been present since creation (cf. Job 38:7, where the
angels are called 'sons of God') and throughout the history of salvation,
announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment
of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise (cf. Gen 3:24);
protected Lot (cf. Gen 19); saved Hagar and her child (cf. Gen 21:17);
stayed Abraham's hand (cf. Gen 22.11); communicated the law by their
ministry (cf. Acts 7:53); led the people of God (cf. Ex 23:20-23); announced
births (cf. Judg 13) and callings (cf. Judg 6:11-24; Is 6:6); and assisted
the prophets (cf. 1 Kings 19:5), just to cite a few examples. Finally, the
angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself
(cf. Lk 1:11-26)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 332).

In the general context of Genesis, this episode points up the new situation
created by the Covenant. God speaks to Abraham directly, as he spoke to Adam
before he committed sin. Abraham, for his part, receives God through his
hospitality, and God again promises that Sarah will have a son (now
specifying when the child will be born). "Because Abraham believed in God
and walked in his presence and in covenant with him (cf. Gen 15:6; 17:1-2),
the patriarch is ready to welcome a mysterious Guest into his tent.
Abraham's remarkable hospitality at Mamre foreshadows the annunciation of
the true Son of the promise (cf. Gen 18:1-15; Lk 1:26-38). After that, once
God has confided his plan, Abraham's heart is attuned to his Lord's
compassion for men and he dares to intercede for them with bold confidence
(cf. Gen 18:16-33)" (ibid., 2571).

18:6. The measure mentioned here, a "seah" (pl. "seim") is a measure of dry
grain (cf. 1 Sam 25:18; 2 Kings 7:1, 16, 18) which was probably a third of
an ephah, that is, about seven liters or two gallons.

18:10. "In the spring"; this could also be translated as "next year".
Literally, "the time of life", which some interpret as "the time of a
woman's pregnancy", that is, nine months.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 8:5-17

The Centurion's Faith

[5] As He (Jesus) entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to Him,
beseeching Him [6] and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at
home, in terrible distress." [7] And He said to him, "I will come and
heal him." [8] But the centurion answered Him, "Lord, I am not worthy
to have You come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant
will be healed. [9] For I am a man under authority, with soldiers
under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,'
and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it." [10] When
Jesus heard him, He marvelled, and said to those who followed Him,
"Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.
[11] I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, [12] while the
sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men
will weep and gnash their teeth." [13] And to the centurion Jesus
said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant
was healed at that very moment.

A Number of Cures

[14] And when Jesus entered Peter's house, He saw his mother-in-law
lying sick with fever; [15] He touched her hand, and the fever left
her, and she rose and served Him. [16] That evening they brought to
Him many who were possessed with demons; and He cast out the spirits
with a word, and healed all who were sick. [17] This was to fulfill
what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, "He took our infirmities and
bore our diseases."

Commentary:

5-11. "Centurion": an officer of the Roman army in control of one
hundred men. This man's faith is still an example to us. At the
solemn moment when a Christian is about to receive Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament, the Church's liturgy places on his lips and in his heart
these words of the centurion, to enliven his faith: Lord, I am not
worthy...".

The Jews of this time regarded any Jew who entered a Gentile's house as
contracting legal impurity (cf. John 19:28; Acts 11:2-3). This
centurion has the deference not to place Jesus in an embarrassing
position in the eyes of His fellow Israelites. He shows that he is
convinced that Jesus has the power over disease and illness; he
suggests that if Jesus just says the word, He will do what is needed
without having actually to visit the house; he is reasoning, in a
simple, logical way, on the basis of his own professional experience.
Jesus avails of this meeting with a Gentile believer to make a solemn
prophecy to the effect that His Gospel is addressed to the world at
large; all men, of every nation and race, of every age and condition,
are called to follow Christ.

14-15. After his body--or soul--is healed, everyone is called to "rise
up" from his previous position, to serve Jesus Christ. No laments, no
delays; instead one should make oneself immediately available to the
Lord.

16-17. The expulsion of evil spirits is one of the main signs of the
establishment of the Kingdom of God (cf. Matthew 12:8). Similarly, the
healing of diseases, which ultimately are the result of sin, is one of
the signs of the "works of the Messiah" proclaimed by the prophets (cf.
Isaiah 29:18; 35:5-6).

Homily of the Day

Title:	Your Heart Is the Final Record of All Your Deeds!
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Saturday, June 25, 2005

Mt 10:37-42

There was a charming little village in the middle of one of the finest wine producing areas in the world. One year, at the end of an especially bountiful harvest, the villagers decided to have a great festival to which everyone was invited. Each villager was asked to bring a bottle of his own wine and to pour it into a giant barrel from which everyone would fill their glasses.

One of the villagers had the inspiration, "If I pour a bottle of water in that giant barrel, no one will notice the difference, and I'll save the wine for myself later." So that's what he did: poured in his bottle of water when no one was watching too closely. And then he waited to drink the wine that everybody else had brought. There was just one catch: Every single person in the village had thought no one would notice if they did the same thing. So when the banquet began and the giant barrel was tapped, what came out was water.

+ + +

Sunday's Gospel seems confusing and not at all happy. It seems to declare war on the family: If you love father or mother too much, you can't be Jesus' friend. It seems to go looking for pain and suffering: Pick up your cross and follow Jesus. And it seems to be hostile to self-esteem and success: Bring yourself to nought.

Well, fortunately, that's not at all what Jesus is saying. Though it doesn't sound like it, he is telling us how to have a happy life, now and always. And he's is saying that the price for the kind of happiness we want is, quite simply, everything we've got. Nothing less than the investment of our whole selves will do. Why? For two reasons.

The first is common sense: You don't get fat dividends from a skinny investment. If I want to be a concert pianist, I practice twelve hours a day for years. A weekend won't do it. If I want a good sermon, I start thinking and writing a long time before the congregation arrives. If I want a gourmet meal, I buy the best ingredients and take no shortcuts.

Now we all know this principle very well, but look at how many lousy pianists, wretched preachers, and rotten cooks there are. And think of how many parts of our lives are littered with the wreckage of failures and mediocrities which didn't have to happen, but were the inevitable result of our half baked commitment and half hearted effort. We do keep trying to buy a beautiful future on the cheap, and we're oh so surprised when it never works out.

There's another more complicated reason why happiness can't be had for anything less than all we've got. And this reason is built inside us. Remember the villager who decided not to put his share of the wine into the barrel. He said, "No one will notice." He was wrong: Nothing goes unnoticed. It's not that there's a little, winged accountant keeping a careful record somewhere. No accountant is needed because a perfect record of our every choice is kept inside us, in our heart. Just as we are what we eat, we become what we do. And when any of our choices begin with a question like, "What's the least I can do and get away with it?", we can be sure that major damage is being done to our hearts at that very moment. With each half-hearted or mean-spirited choice, our hearts are being shriveled and hardened before our very eyes. And as the heart shrinks and shrivels, it has less and less capacity for receiving and experiencing the joy it craves. There's no room for the joy it thought it somehow could secure by holding onto as much and investing as little as possible.

Jesus knows we have this trouble this endless temptation to try to get by on the cheap. So his formula for happiness goes right to the heart of the matter. He says, "Love the Lord with your whole heart, whole soul, and your whole mind. And love your neighbor as you love yourself." Hold nothing back. Set no limits on what you're willing to expend on life. The heart that has withheld nothing, that has given its all, will be huge indeed, ready at each moment to take in the vast amounts of happiness we crave. That's not an arbitrary rule. That's just the way it works.

So listen to Jesus. He knows what he's talking about and he was willing to die to make certain you got the message!

Mt 8:5-17
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
5	And when he had entered into Capharnaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him,	cum autem introisset Capharnaum accessit ad eum centurio rogans eum
6	And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grievously tormented.	et dicens Domine puer meus iacet in domo paralyticus et male torquetur
7	And Jesus saith to him: I will come and heal him.	et ait illi Iesus ego veniam et curabo eum
8	And the centurion, making answer, said: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.	et respondens centurio ait Domine non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum sed tantum dic verbo et sanabitur puer meus
9	For I also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this, Go, and he goeth, and to another Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.	nam et ego homo sum sub potestate habens sub me milites et dico huic vade et vadit et alio veni et venit et servo meo fac hoc et facit
10	And Jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him. Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel.	audiens autem Iesus miratus est et sequentibus se dixit amen dico vobis non inveni tantam fidem in Israhel
11	And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven:	dico autem vobis quod multi ab oriente et occidente venient et recumbent cum Abraham et Isaac et Iacob in regno caelorum
12	But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.	filii autem regni eicientur in tenebras exteriores ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium
13	And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And the servant was healed at the same hour.	et dixit Iesus centurioni vade et sicut credidisti fiat tibi et sanatus est puer in hora illa
14	And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying, and sick of a fever;	et cum venisset Iesus in domum Petri vidit socrum eius iacentem et febricitantem
15	And he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered to them.	et tetigit manum eius et dimisit eam febris et surrexit et ministrabat eis
16	And when evening was come, they brought to him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word: and all that were sick he healed:	vespere autem facto obtulerunt ei multos daemonia habentes et eiciebat spiritus verbo et omnes male habentes curavit
17	That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet Isaias, saying: He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.	ut adimpleretur quod dictum est per Esaiam prophetam dicentem ipse infirmitates nostras accepit et aegrotationes portavit

Saturday of the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. William, abbot

That evening they brought him many who were possessed by devils. He cast out the spirits with a word and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfil the propehecy of Isaiah: He took our sicknesses away and carried our diseases for us. (Matt 8:17)

Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the feast of St. William, a Piedmontese hermit of the beginning of the twelfth century. He built a monastery on the summit of Monte Vergine near Naples, and established a community of hermits, to whom he gave a rule inspired in great measure by that of St. Benedict. He died in 1142.

St. William of Monte Virgine, Abbot
Abbot William hailed from Vercelli in Piedmont. At the age of fourteen he undertook a pilgrimage in shabby penitential clothes to the tomb of the holy Apostle James at Compostella, Spain. After his return he lived upon a deserted hill, where he practiced severe penances. On this "Hill of Vergil," called Monte Vergine after it was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, William built a monastery and founded an order of Benedictine hermits. He performed many miracles. When tempted by a shameless woman, he threw himself into a bed of burning coals, but remained unharmed. Thereupon King Roger of Naples became one of the saint's admirers.

He is also known as St. William of Vercelli, or St. William of Monte Vergine.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Symbols: Wolf; trowel; lily; passion flower.
Often Portrayed as: a pilgrim, usually near Santiago de Compostela; abbot near a wolf wearing a saddle; receiving an appearance by Christ; saddling a wolf that killed his ass.

Things to Do:

William's pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James the Apostle in Spain was the turning point of his life. Is it not easily possible for you to make a pilgrimage to some holy place in your neighborhood now during the summertime? First of all, however, are you familiar with the relics in your own parish church? Remember that any visit to a church is a pilgrimage to the grave of a saint!

Religion in the Home for Preschool: June June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

June 25, 2005

Blessed Jutta of Thuringia

(d. 1264?)

Today's patroness of Prussia began her life amidst luxury and power but died the death of a simple servant of the poor.

In truth, virtue and piety were always of prime importance to Jutta and her husband, both of noble rank. The two were set to make a pilgrimage together to the holy places in Jerusalem, but her husband died on the way. The newly widowed Jutta, after taking care to provide for her children, resolved to live in a manner utterly pleasing to God. She disposed of the costly clothes, jewels and furniture befitting one of her rank, and became a Secular Franciscan, taking on the simple garment of a religious.

From that point her life was utterly devoted to others: caring for the sick, particularly lepers; tending to the poor, whom she visited in their hovels; helping the crippled and blind with whom she shared her own home. Many of the townspeople of Thuringia laughed at how the once-distinguished lady now spent all her time. But Jutta saw the face of God in the poor and felt honored to render whatever services she could.

About the year 1260, not long before her death, Jutta lived near the non-Christians in eastern Germany. There she built a small hermitage and prayed unceasingly for their conversion. She has been venerated for centuries as the special patron of Prussia.

Comment:

Jesus once said that a camel can pass through a needle’s eye more easily than a rich person can enter God’s realm. That’s pretty scary news for us. We may not have great fortunes, but we who live in the West enjoy a share of the world’s goods that people in the rest of the world cannot imagine. Much to the amusement of her neighbors, Jutta disposed of her wealth after her husband’s death and devoted her life to caring for those who had no means. Should we follow her example, people will probably laugh at us, too. But God will smile.

The Word Among Us

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Meditation
Matthew 8:5-17

How great is the power of our God! With only a word, Jesus healed the centurion’s servant. By just taking her hand, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. All it took was some mud, and Jesus was able to heal a man who had been born without eyesight. God so wants to heal his people and be in a close relationship with us that we need only come to him. To move toward him in even the slightest degree is enough for him to shower his love and mercy upon us.

Recognizing the authority of the One he approached, the centurion expected to receive what he requested. When Jesus expressed his willingness to go with him and heal his servant, the centurion replied: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8). Having asked, he believed; he needed nothing more. We echo these words every time we prepare to receive the Eucharist: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you; only say the word and I shall be healed.” This is the disposition that delights our heavenly Father!

When we ask, we need only believe that we will receive. And when we ask, we must recognize—like the centurion—who it is we are asking. As the Lord of all creation, Jesus has authority and power to heal the sick and restore anyone who comes to him. The centurion was not even a member of the house of Israel, yet he recognized Jesus’ authority and in humility came to him. Jesus was so impressed with the man’s disposition that he remarked: “In no one in Israel have I found such faith” (Matthew 8:10). No one is excluded from Jesus’ mercy, not even those we may consider our enemies.

Let us all come to Jesus with the same uncomplicated faith of the centurion. Let us come with humility and childlike trust to our merciful Father who wants to heal us according to his wisdom, his timing, and his provision.

“Lord Jesus, you promised that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains in your name. Teach me to live by this free gift of faith. Like the centurion, I come to you with a humble heart, believing that you will never fail me.”

Genesis 18:1-15; (Psalm) Luke 1:46-50,53-55

One Bread, One Body

<< Saturday, June 25, 2005 >>

Genesis 18:1-15

Luke 1:46-50, 53-55

Matthew 8:5-17

View Readings

BLESSED ARE THE HOSPITABLE

“Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree. Now that you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food.” —Genesis 18:4-5

Abraham ran up to three strangers and begged them for the privilege of offering them hospitality. Unknowingly he offered hospitality to God and two angels. This prompted the writer of Hebrews to command us: “Do not neglect to show hospitality, for by that means some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb 13:2).

Paul also commanded us to “be generous in offering hospitality” (Rm 12:13). When we offer hospitality by giving someone even a cup of cold water, we will not go unrewarded (see Mt 10:42). When we feed the hungry or give drink to the thirsty, we are giving service to God (Mt 25:40).

Showing hospitality is one of the main qualifications for being a Christian leader (1 Tm 3:2; Ti 1:8). Therefore, we should not only offer hospitality without complaining (1 Pt 4:9), but also beg people to accept our hospitality (e.g. Acts 16:15; Gn 18:4-5). Hospitality is a great privilege. Jesus Himself will offer His faithful ones hospitality at the end of the world. “It will go well with those servants whom the Master finds wide-awake on His return. I tell you, He will put on an apron, seat them at table, and proceed to wait on them” (Lk 12:37). Blessed are the hospitable: they shall serve God and be served by Him.

Prayer: Father, may I welcome everyone as if they were You and Your angels.

Promise: “He took her by the hand and the fever left her. She got up at once and began to wait on Him.” —Mt 8:15

Praise: Don and Jean were so hospitable to their teenage children’s friends that even now, thirty years later, many of those “kids” take time to visit them on holidays and special occasions.

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