Last Sunday was Fathers’ Day and I found in a little book of daily prayer this prayer for Fathers:
Creator of All Life, as we honour the good, righteous and untiring efforts of fathers, we pray for the men who gave us life and those who served as father figures, extending their love to us. We thank you for fathers who have served as examples of how to live the faith, and we pray also for fathers who have left this earthly life, that they may dwell in heaven with you forever. Amen. (Terence Hegarty)
The common theme of today’s readings is the work God gives us to do as the followers of Jesus and can be summed up through our love of God and for our brothers and sisters through hospitality, generosity, commitment, and charity.
In the first reading, we see, the welcome given to the prophet Elijah by an elderly, childless woman and her husband who lived in Shunem. Shunem or Shunaam was a small village mentioned in the Bible in the possession of the Tribe of Issachar. It was located near the Jezreel Valley, north of Mount Gilboa. Shunaam is where the Philistines camped when they fought Saul, the first king of Israel. It was the hometown of Abishag, King David’s companion in his old age.
In the Gospel Jesus assures his disciples that whoever shows them hospitality will be blessed. Those who receive Jesus receive the One who sent him. Also, those who help the “little ones,” (believers) and the poor, the sick, and the needy will be amply rewarded. We, as individuals and as a community, should actively look for opportunities to be hospitable. Maybe hospitality is offered through a kind word to a stranger – or even a smile. A kind smile or a “hello” to someone waiting with us in a supermarket queue may be the only kindness that person encounters all day. We become fully alive as Christians through the generous giving of ourselves. The most important action we can do is that of giving of ourselves to people, first and foremost, in the way we think about them, for from that will flow the ways we speak to them and about them, forgive their failings, encourage them, show them respect, console them, and offer them help. Such generosity reflects warmth radiating from the very love of God.
The following story is adapted from a story found on the Internet at snopes.com.
The special joy of nature-loving boy Howard Kelly was hiking great distances and studying animals in the wild. On a walking trip, up through Northern Pennsylvania one spring, young Kelly stopped by a small farmhouse for a drink of cool spring water. A little girl answered his knock at the door, and instead of water, she brought him a glass of fresh milk. He thanked her profusely and went on his way. After years of medical studies, he became Dr. Kelly. Dr. Howard Kelly (1858-1943) was a distinguished physician who was one of the four founding doctors of Johns Hopkins, the first medical research university in the U.S. and, arguably, one of the finest hospitals
anywhere. In 1895, he established in that school the department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. Over the course of his career, Doctor Kelly advanced the sciences of gynaecology and surgery, both as a teacher and as a practitioner. Some years later, that same little girl from Northern Pennsylvania who had given him that glass of milk years ago, came to him for an operation. Just before she left for home, fearful of a huge bill, her bill was brought into the room and across its face was written in a bold hand, “Paid in full for one glass of milk.” That was Dr. Kelly’s style of showing gratitude and hospitality. While he charged the rich patients substantial fees, he provided his services free-of-charge to the less fortunate. By his conservative estimate, in 75% of his cases he neither sought nor received a fee.
The Scriptures this weekend challenge us all to practice hospitality by seeing Christ in others.