Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
Luke 10:38
In the scripture for this week, Luke 10:38-42, Jesus stops in a village and is welcomed into Martha’s home. Jesus became good friends with her, as well as her sister Mary and their brother Lazarus. While there were inns in some cities, most travelers depended on the kindness of people in the villages for a place to spend the night. This hospitality had long been part of their culture, stretching back to Abraham welcoming the desert travelers (Genesis 18:1-8).
We don’t often encounter travelers looking for a night’s shelter unannounced in our society. We have become so fast paced and closed off from each other that hospitality of this kind is unknown to most of us. Taking a stranger into your home involves risk, for both of you.
While Jesus may not ask us to have unknown people stay in our home (but He might!), we are called to be welcoming in our community. This too involves risk, perhaps not to our personal safety, but it certainly could involve our commitment and our resources to help provide for others. How is Jesus asking you to share hospitality today and how will you respond?
Loving Lord, we are often slow to welcome those new to us and cautious in our hospitality. Help us to open our hearts in faith, sharing the love You first gave us with those we meet. Amen.