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SCRIPTURE READING:

GENESIS 18:1-15

ROMANS 5:1-8

MATTHEW 9:35-10:8

SUNDAY REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “reward for being hospitable” A reward is a thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement. To be hospitable means to be generous and kind to visitors or guests. The theme can be rephrased as “God blesses us when we are generous or kind to others” The theme raises two important questions for our consideration.

1. Why must we be hospitable?
2. What is the reward for being hospitable?

First, beloved in the Lord, why are we obliged as believers to be hospitable? After all, I own my house and worked hard for the things I have, why must I be generous or share all that I have with other people who are not even my family members? Jesus gives us a simple and straightforward answer, “You received without paying; give without pay.” (Matthew 10:8). Paul also poses the question, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Dear friend, what priceless gift have we received form God without paying? We have received His unconditional love, grace and salvation through our Lord Jesus. It is for this reason, Paul reminds us that God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Beloved in the Lord, pondering over the priceless gift we have received from God, we must also love and share with others unconditionally or be hospitable to all. My dear friend we live a borrowed life and are only stewards of God’s blessings. Paul reminds us that …”we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world…” (1 Timothy 6:7). Indeed, how much food can you consume at a go, how many beds can you lie on at once, how many houses can we live in at a moment and how many dresses and shoes can we wear at a time? God has purposely blessed us unconditionally so that we can be hospitable to others. Jesus tells us that we shall be judged based on how hospitable we have been on earth, on the judgement day,”“… he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46) No wonder Paul admonishes us through his letter to Timothy that “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹ thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19) Dear friend, we must learn to be givers because we have been given, we must be hospitable because we have been blessed unconditionally.

Secondly, what then is the reward for being hospitable? God fulfils His promises in our lives when we are hospitable. In other words, he takes care of our needs when we also take care of the needs of others. Abraham was hospitable to the Lord’s servants and He received the fulfilment of God’s promise. After Abraham “… brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. ⁹ “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There, in the tent, ” he said.
¹⁰ Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” (Genesis 18:8-10). Dear friend, God does not overlook our hospitality, “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. (Hebrews 6:10). Jesus further assures us that “whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:42). In 1 Kings 17:7-24, the widow of Zerephat was hospitable to Prophet Elijah and was reward, “For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah. 1 Kings 17:16. Again, when widow’s son died, “The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.” (1 Kings 17:22). My dear friend in Christ there is immeasurable in reward for being hospitable because it is the will of God. It is important to add that we must be hospitable to everyone including our enemies. Jesus admonishes us to ”love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. ³⁶ Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:35-36).

In summary, the theme for our reflection is “reward for being hospitable” We have discovered two important facts about being hospitable. First, we must be hospitable because we are beneficiaries of God’s unconditional love, grace and manifold blessings through our Lord Jesus Christ, and second, God truly rewards hospitality by fulfilling His promises in our lives and providing for our needs. May the Holy Spirit empower us to remain hospitable even as we continue to be beneficiaries of God’s unconditional love, grace and blessings. Amen.