Entertaining Angels | Hebrews 13:1-2

Welcome to Real Life.   A man once asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”  He basically replied, “Everyone.”  Anyone who shows mercy to someone in need is their neighbor.[1]

My father has lived in Slovakia, France, Brazil and America.  Yet, for a few years this world traveler was afraid to board an airplane.  One of those years, mom arrived alone at the airport for our Christmas visit.  Dad stayed home in Daytona Beach.

On New Year’s Day, she called my dad.   He told her this story:

The afternoon of New Year’s Eve, my father had been out running errands and was waiting for a bus home.  Being a friendly guy, he struck up a conversation with a stranger at the bus stop.  The man had fallen on hard times.  He was homeless.   Since dad was on his own, he invited the stranger to have dinner with him.  They rode the bus home together and dad cooked his “whatever’s-in-the-fridge” goulash for supper.  After eating, they spent the evening watching TV.  Eventually, my father fell asleep on the couch.  When he awoke to a new day and a new year, the stranger was gone.

Mom was horrified, “You could have been murdered in your sleep.  We could have been robbed.”  But, the stranger left without taking anything - not food, not a thing from the house, not even my dad’s wallet.

When he was a young man, my father wandered Europe as a homeless refugee after World War II.  He had slept under the stars on cold nights.  He had been hungry and penniless.  He had spent holidays alone, far from home and family.  It was natural for him to offer food and shelter to a fellow human being in need on New Year’s Eve.

Could the stranger have been an angel in disguise?

“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.  Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!”  (Hebrews 13:1-2 NLT)

If he had been an angel, dad passed the test.  Would I pass?  Yes, women must be careful.  Many warm-hearted, naive women have been harmed or even murdered helping strangers.  However, in my carefulness has my heart grown hard towards the downtrodden?  Have my ears grown deaf to the Spirit's nudge, “You can help that person”?  Have I missed the opportunity to entertain an angel?

Dear Lord, as I enter this new year, keep my heart warm and compassionate in our cynical world.  Open my ears to your voice.  And give me the wisdom to know when and how to be a neighbor to those in need.  May I see your face in the face of a stranger.  Amen.

Something to think about…

• Read further:  “Entertaining Angels” Study Guide by Robert B. Kruschwitz, Director of the Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University.
• Help the homeless in… 

          Cleveland:  www.thecitymission.org

          Akron:  www.havenofrest.org

          Around the world:  www.salvationarmy.com

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[1] Luke 10:29-37 (Parable of the Good Samaritan)
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