Hospitality of the Heart
October 28, 2012
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Matthew 25:31-40
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; I needed clothes and you clothed me; I was sick and you looked after me; I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did I see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
The King will reply,’ I tell you the truth,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ”
Ah, Lord,
it’s always a journey with you,
isn’t it?
The journey from words to meaning
from knowledge to understanding
from hearing to responding.
The journey from head to heart.
And each journey ends
yet again
on my knees
at your feet.
For you are the source
I need to come to
in praise, in thanks,
in love.
And to learn.
Thank you, Lord,
for the outstanding teacher you have given us
in Jesus.
Everything I need to know about how to be…
even
Hospitality Jesus Style!
Which looks a lot different
from some of my attempts.
For his motivation
is never guilt
nagging conscience
or ‘being good’.
His motivation is
love
and
for God.
That simple
That pure.
So many glimpses to learn from:
the wedding wine (how interesting that his
first miraculous sign was at a party)
Feeding thousands out of care and concern
(when really, he was there to teach not to cater)
washing feet at dinner to demonstrate love and
service and humility.
And that Last Supper.
Kind, generous, inclusive, open-handed, open-hearted,
thoughtful, appropriate, aware.
I so want to be like that.
Hospitality of the Heart.
and all I need to do, Lord
is keep following you.
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written by Ginni Auld
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