On Saturdays, we pre-send the Sunday reflection for families - the same one Hearth & Altar subscribers receive at the table together.

Have a blessed Sunday - we'll be back Monday morning.

Sunday's Reflection — Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a; Ps 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19; Rom 6:3-4, 8-11; Mt 10:37-42

The Shunammite woman prepared the room. She did not wait for a request. She observed the man of God passing by repeatedly, recognized what he was, consulted her husband, and prepared the small room on the roof - bed, table, chair, lamp. She provided for the prophet's need before the prophet asked.

And what Elisha can do for her is the one thing she has not been able to do for herself: she has no son. This time next year you will be fondling a baby son.

The household that makes room for the holy - that recognizes what is holy and creates space for it - receives what only the holy can give. The Shunammite woman's generosity is not a transaction. It is the expression of who she is. The promised son is the expression of who Elisha's God is.

Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple - truly I say to you they will not lose their reward. The smallest act of hospitality given in the name of Jesus has the weight of receiving Jesus himself. The room on the roof with the bed, table, chair, and lamp is the cup of cold water scaled up. Both receive the reward.

Universal Prayer

• For our family, that we would be the household that makes room for the holy - recognizing what is holy when it passes by and creating space for it, we pray to the Lord.
• For those who have been hoping for the one thing they have not been able to provide for themselves, that the promise this time next year would come, we pray to the Lord.
• For those who have taken up their cross and followed, losing the life they had in order to find the life they were made for, we pray to the Lord.
• In this Sacred Heart month, for the heart that receives every cup of cold water given in his name as given to him, we pray to the Lord.

Faith in Action

Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet receives a prophet's reward. Name one person in your life who is carrying something holy - a calling, a ministry, a faithfulness - that you could support this week. One concrete act of supporting their mission. The Shunammite woman's act is available in small forms every week.

A Note for Parents

Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. The ordering of loves is the most challenging teaching of the missionary discourse. Teach your children this - not as rejection of the family love but as its grounding: the love for God that makes every other love possible and sustainable. The family that loves God first loves each other most fully.