An Open Invitation

“When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’  So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.” Luke 19:5, 6 (NIV)

How do you deal with unexpected visitors to your home, especially at mealtime?  Some of us who prioritize neatness  and hospitality  tend to go into a tizzy at such a time,  trying to be gracious but wishing we had been forewarned. When I was a teenager living on the island, I was impressed with a  lady whose family I was visiting.  I noticed that she set a spread of delicious island food  for a pastor who had “just dropped in.”  Like many ministers in the island, he  had several churches to manage, and when one of these  pastors  unexpectedly  stopped by certain homes at lunchtime before going on to the next church,  he never left without a meal. Those ministers were always graciously entertained.

When Jesus went to Bethany to the home of Mary and Martha, did He call ahead?  I don’t think so, but He and His disciples  were  always welcomed, and they had  a meal, even if  Marhta got a little fussy about making all the preparations by herself.

In our focus text, Jesus, the itinerant preacher, was passing through Jericho. It was quite an event for the townspeople, especially for Zacchaeus, who desperately wanted to see Jesus. Imagine his surprise when Jesus looked up into the tree where he was perched and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’s house.  How did Zacchaeus  react? He “welcomed Him gladly.”

What if Jesus stopped by your house at mealtime one day? Would it be a solemn, disturbing  occasion  or a joyous one? We shouldn’t have to sweat the answer.  It’s  sufficient to know that  our home must be a welcoming place for our Lord  at  all times. He should have a standing invitation.

Always,

Judith

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“The ornament of a house is the 
friends who visit it.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson