A big part of my ministry is one of hospitality. How comfortable am I with being present to the people of my community? Is my style of preaching welcoming or off-putting? What are some of the reasons I may hold back from other people or remain aloof?

While hospitality figures in both the passages from Genesis and Luke this weekend, the readings have to do with more: the prediction of the birth of Isaac and the importance of paying attention to the truly important things Christ teaches.

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Abraham extended enormous hospitality to the three mysterious visitors who appeared at his tent in the heat of the day. He suspected there was more to these travelers than met the eye, and he made them feel at home.

A few years ago my wife and I added a new routine to  our preparations for family parties that we host. It's made a world of difference. We host relatives and friends at Thanksgiving every year.

One of my favorite stories about Dorothy Day was the time she was being interviewed by a young reporter at a Catholic Worker House. It seemed that every few minutes into the interview the doorbell would ring. Dorothy would politely excuse herself and give a sandwich or a pair of gloves or a token to the street person at the door.

Hospitality: Ireland is called the land of a thousand welcomes. People won't hesitate to offer you a friendly smile or go out of their way to set you on the right road during your travels

We present ourselves to God, in hope of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

The better part. Since the days of the early church the story of Martha and Mary has been used to illustrate the difference between contemplation and action. It has also been the source of sympathetic jokes about those who do all the work while others get to sit around and enjoy themselves.

Our text says of Martha that she was busy with much serving. In fact, right down to the present day we see prelates in charge of the churches and the other clergy devotedly hurrying to and fro about their work, hot and bothered, sweating over the needs of their brothers and sister in various ways, so that we may rightly describe them as also busy with much serving. —Bruno of Segni (d. 1123)