Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 20th July 2025
Hospitality is often praised as a beautiful human virtue—welcoming someone into your home, offering food, shelter, warmth. But today’s readings take us deeper. They show us that true hospitality is not just about what we do, but about whom we welcome – and how we open our hearts to the presence of God.
In the first reading, we meet Abraham, sitting by the oak trees of Mamre. He sees three strangers approaching. Without hesitation, he runs to greet them, invites them in, washes their feet, prepares a meal. Abraham doesn’t know that these strangers are messengers of God, a prefiguration of the Holy Trinity. His simple act of generosity becomes the setting for one of the most important revelations in his life: the promise of a son.
I will tell you a story. An old woman in a small village would always set one extra place at her Christmas table, “in case Jesus came.” Some thought it silly. But one bitter winter evening, a homeless man knocked. She welcomed him warmly, fed him, and said later, “Maybe it wasn’t Jesus – but He sent him.”
True hospitality is not just about actions – it’s about readiness of heart. Who do you welcome into your home? But more importantly, who do you welcome into your heart?