Today's Gospel

Extend Your Hospitality

Welcome back to Radical & Relevant where we are exploring the life and the teachings of Jesus which were radical 2,000 years ago. And they're just as radical today. They were relevant 2,000 years ago, and they're just as relevant today. The question is, are we going to allow the radical message of the gospel to penetrate our hearts, to penetrate our lives, to animate the way we live in the world each day? And that's why we take this couple of minutes each day to reflect on the gospel of today. Today's reading comes from the Gospel of Luke 9:1-6. "And Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, 'Take nothing for your journey, no staff, no bag, no bread, nor money. And do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.' And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere." What jumps out at you today? Is there a word? Is there a phrase? Is there an idea?

Idea for me is one rich with nostalgia. Because when I first started traveling over 30 years ago now, I was 19 and I would go to a different city every day. And I would stay in people's homes. They would open their homes to me, and they would pick me up at the airport. And they would take me maybe to the high school to speak and then maybe back to their home for dinner or to a restaurant and then to speak in the church and then back to stay at their house and next day get me up early and take me back to the airport. And it was an incredible time in my life as a very young person traveling the world to experience this very generous hospitality. And so what jumps out at me is probably different than what jumps out at most.

But what jumps out at me is this idea of hospitality. It's okay to ask for people's hospitality is essentially what Jesus is saying. Go looking for the hospitality of somebody in each village, in each town, in each city, and receive their hospitality graciously and joyfully. My wife says to me, sometimes she says, "You need to get better at receiving." And I like doing things for other people, but I sometimes feel uncomfortable when people do things for me. My wife said, "You need to get better at receiving." And I know she's right. And I need to do that. But this reading, it reminds me of a time when all I could do was receive. I was in a city I knew nothing about with people I knew nothing about but trusted that they would take care of me. And they did. And I think about cities sometimes, and I think about the people who organized events or whose homes I stayed in and always pray for those people and think very warmly of those people. Hospitality, it's a Christian event. It is a Christian virtue. It's a thing of beauty. Let's think about how we can be in that way, how we can extend hospitality to people today in small ways or large. Have a great day. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.