Hospitality is the theme of today’s Readings starting with the welcome given to Elisha by a well-off married couple who decide “Let us build him a small room on the roof, and put a bed in it, and a table and chair and a lamp; whenever he comes to us he can rest there”. God is not to be outdone by this generosity and as a sign of appreciation for their care for the Prophet in twelve months’ time the gift of a child is bestowed upon them. Jesus has this event in mind when he proclaims “and anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will have a prophet’s reward”.
To accept hospitality takes a certain ‘dying to self’ of any pride or independence that may keep us from accepting the care offered by another. “I’m supposed to be the one who helps people; I shouldn’t be needing help myself”. To entrust myself to an invitation extended by another is really to hand myself over to God who is taking care of me through them. The cup of water given to us comes from God’s hands and we must learn to accept it with humility and gratitude.
The person we are encouraged to welcome most in today’s Gospel is Jesus himself: “for those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me”. But often when God tries to come into our hearts they are too cluttered with people and material things we tend to rely on instead. So in order to correct this, parents are being advised not to cling to the role of being so strong or so demanding that they cannot surrender and draw strength from God’s love expressed ever so subliminally through their children. And children should not cling to the role of being rebellious or indifferent which prevents them from surrendering to the nurturing support that God is offering them at every turn through their parent’s love. In this way our Lord asks us to be generous and to let God have his way “then I tell you solemnly, you will certainly not lose your reward”.