SUNDAY SIXTEENTH IN ORDINARY TIME Hospitality is the art of welcoming, with attention given to those who are welcomed.

The Liturgy of the Word for this Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time brings to our reflection the theme of Hospitality, both through Abraham's attitude in the first reading and through the welcome that Martha and Mary of Bethany gave to Jesus. Hospitality is a hallmark mentioned in Sacred Scripture and has become part of the way we live our faith in the Judeo-Christian tradition, since the presence of God in the person or people we welcome leads us to want to do so in the best way possible. However, the readings lead us to reflect on our attitude toward the presence of God, who visits us, knowing how to take advantage of His presence to be more focused on His presence than on what we offer Him. The art of welcoming, that is, Hospitality in Abraham and Sarah and in Martha and Mary, are clear examples of what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews refers to at one point: "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers; in so doing, some have entertained angels unawares." (Heb 13:2)

It is this deeply rooted brand of religiosity that Judeo-Christian culture has promoted and sponsored over the centuries and that today needs to be revitalized, mainly to break the supremacy of selfishness and isolation over altruism and the gesture of opening the door to those who ask for help.

Thus, the first reading from the Book of Genesis tells us how Abraham recognizes the presence of the Lord God in the three men who pass by his tent and the way he welcomes them, giving them "water to wash their feet" as pilgrims, "shade to rest under the trees," and food to "restore their strength and continue on their journey." Abraham's plea and request find acceptance in those "Men," and they are served and fed in such a way that they, sensing this profound gesture of hospitality, reward him with a promise of life, with the son Sarah will bear him. Welcoming means opening oneself to others, exposing oneself, giving, and revealing one's life with meaningful gestures of sharing, acceptance, and compassion. Therefore, the nobility of the one who welcomes is the way to reveal the greatness of the one welcomed; it is the way to make the other recognize their importance in the simplicity and humility of bringing God's presence into their hearts.

In the second reading, from St. Paul's Epistle to the Colossians, the Apostle tells them that, now in prison, the sufferings he endures complete in his flesh what is lacking in Christ's passion, explaining their meaning, which is placed in the greater good of the "Body of Christ," which is the Church . Looking back, we can see the mission he accomplished, full of suffering and toil, but worth it because "the mystery that was hidden" was revealed to all, Jews and pagans alike, through his ministry. The riches of God and His glory were also revealed through St. Paul, as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Thus, Saint Paul says that he now understands how the sufferings endured for the sake of Christ and for those who welcomed the proclamation of the Gospel bring joy to their hearts. Saint Paul's evangelizing and apostolic mission reveals difficulties and suffering, but they are always worth it for the grace of being an instrument in God's hands so that "Salvation may reach the ends of the earth." In the Gospel of Saint Luke, the text revisits the theme of hospitality and welcome, in which it is Jesus himself who is welcomed into the home of Martha and her sister Mary. Welcoming someone into our home awakens in us the desire to provide the best, to ensure that nothing is lacking, that the table is full, that there is no shortage of drink. Martha wanted precisely that Jesus should lack nothing in her home. However, welcoming and receiving into our home also requires giving time and attention, listening and speaking, and ensuring that the welcomed person has the presence of the one who welcomes them with this precious time of listening. Thus, the Gospel text places before us precisely this attitude of one who wants to welcome well and to lack nothing, and the time spent listening to the one who has been welcomed. The attitudes of Martha and Mary reveal the concerns of welcoming and receiving in the best way, but the Word of the one who is welcomed transforms these concerns into appreciation for the presence and time of those who are in our home. Receiving the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist should make us value His presence within us, not just receiving, almost as a gesture repeated in the normality of the moment.

Hospitality, as the art of welcoming, increasingly requires valuing the presence of those we welcome and the time spent listening to what comes from within their hearts.