Daily Devotional • October 13
A Reading from Matthew 10:5-15
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. 9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for laborers deserve their food. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
Meditation
It’s tempting when reading today’s Gospel passage to see ourselves only in the exciting lives of the twelve—those sent by Jesus to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven has come near,” and then, through miraculous actions, bring that kingdom to bare. Indeed, we all have important work God has given us to do during our lives.
Instead, however, I wonder what it would look like to see ourselves as the possible “worthy persons” who are asked to host the disciples as they travel from town to town. Would we be willing to welcome God and his disciples and his kingdom into our homes?
God needs steadfast willing hosts just as much as he needs the adventurous itinerant disciples. For many of us, our dwelling places are the best gift we can offer back to God. What would it look like to invite someone in need into your space? What would it look like to consider the ways your material possessions might further God’s kingdom? Maybe it looks like hosting morning or evening prayer in your living room a few days a week. Maybe it looks like inviting a friend who’s lost a job to stay in your guest bedroom. Maybe it looks like hosting an immigrant while they acclimate to a new culture. Hospitality doesn’t need to be an elaborate affair. All it requires is a willingness to say yes—to share. When you do, you just might find that the kingdom of heaven comes near.
Elizabeth Hamilton’s writing has appeared in the Dallas Museum of Art, Southern Humanities Review, and Texas Monthly. She has an MFA from Seattle Pacific University. Find her work at elizabethannehamilton.com
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
St. Pierre’s Episcopal Church, Gautier, Mississippi
