Have you ever felt like you were empty of hope, resources, energy, strength, or provisions? Trusting God means you will be open to receiving grace by whatever means God chooses to use. Often this comes in the form of another person’s generosity.

In our passage from Matthew this morning, Jesus instructed his disciples to find places of hospitality and generosity as they traveled throughout the countryside. Being welcome in someone’s home was an important indication of how receptive they might be to hearing and living out the Good News.

Matthew 10 (Common English Bible)

¹¹ Whatever city or village you go into, find somebody in it who is worthy and stay there until you go on your way. ¹² When you go into a house, say, ‘Peace!’ ¹³ If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if the house isn’t worthy, take back your blessing. ¹⁴ If anyone refuses to welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or city.

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to share a story from my family about how God provides for us when we feel as though all of our provisions have run out. My grandfather was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, so even during Great Depression he had an income because the trains always ran. As the country slid into a terrible economy, men looking for work would ride the trains by jumping in and out of boxcars as they slowed down as they went through stations. These fellows were known as hobos, and they went between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in search of farm or factory work. My grandparents lived in railroad station towns like Huntingdon and Altoona, right in the center of the state, and so often times a man would come to the door of the little house they rented near the station and ask for a piece of bread and a cup of water.

My Grandmother was a solid Christian woman who believed in God’s promises, and she also understood the biblical call to practice hospitality. So if a hobo appeared at the door asking for bread, they received a sandwich. If they came in the afternoon, Grandmother would insist they come in and sit at her kitchen table and eat their sandwich while she worked on supper. If they happened to come by at supper, they were seated at the dining room table with the rest of the family. Many refused to come in, preferring to eat on the back steps. But Grandma insisted and she was hard to resist!

Matthew 10 (Common English Bible) continued

⁴⁰ “Those who receive you are also receiving me, and those who receive me are receiving the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Those who receive a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Those who receive a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² I assure you that everybody who gives even a cup of cold water to these little ones because they are my disciples will certainly be rewarded.”

One night a gentleman who had been there before came back through, and grandmother welcomed him in. As they were saying goodbye, she remarked  that there had been a steady stream of hobos at the table each night, and she wondered if other families in Altoona were receiving guests as well. “Probably not, Ma’am, we all know to come to you,” he replied. “How do you know that?” she asked. He pulled a piece of chalk out of his vest. “You see, whenever we get into a town and a nice Christian lady such as yourself offers us something to eat, we mark the curb by the house, so the other fellows know they are welcome there.” Grandmother was amused at this and then asked, “What kind of mark?” And he knelt down and drew the sign of the fish, an ichthus, on her back step. He said, “We make the sign of Jesus, Ma’am, so that the others know that this is a house where God lives.”

Is God calling you to practice radical hospitality with someone whose provisions have run out? May we live our lives in such a way that someone would chalk the fish, the sign of Jesus, on our front curb.

Jesus’ Sign by Lynne Mathis