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Proper 8
Proper 8? What a strange name for the Sunday.
The green weeks after Pentecost are called “Proper”. We will count them up to week 28 this year, before we get ready to start Advent and our new Christian Year with the first purple block at the top.
During the Proper weeks, we spend time getting to know Jesus better, understanding what he taught us to do, and remembering our responsibility as Christians.
Our Story this week
Jesus assures his followers that they will receive hospitality when they travel
Show hospitality
In today’s lesson we heard Jesus talk about the hospitality offered to the people sent out in Jesus’ name to teach about Christianity.
Hospitality is a big word that means offing people a place to stay, offering a meal or a drink, and making some feel comfortable as they visit. Jesus told his followers not to take advantage of hospitality. Do the job and then move to another place and teach another group of people about God’s love.
Imagine how you can show hospitality to someone else. Talk about it with your family and then decide how you would host a visitor. What will you serve them for food and drink? Would they be staying with you or just visiting through the day?
Hospitality when it’s hard
It is easy to offer hospitality and kindness to people we love like our families, or people we like as friends. It is a lot harder to offer hospitality to people we don’t know, and even harder to offer hospitality to people we don’t like.
Jesus asked us to expect hospitality and to give hospitality. What kind of hospitality would you give to someone you didn’t know? What kinds of questions would you ask them about their food preferences and allergies? How would you find out how to be a good host for them? Make a list of things you would need to find out about a stranger in order to make them comfortable in your home.
And the hardest thing of all, showing Jesus’ love and hospitality to people we don’t like. How can you be a better host to someone even if you don’t enjoy their company or want them around?
The Barefoot Evangelist 