peachblossoms this week

feb 4, 2005

feb 4, 2005 yesterday, today and forever Heb 13:1-8

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment,
and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body.
Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled,
for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. Let your life be free from love of money
but be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you.
Thus we may say with confidence:

The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?

Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Yesterday, today and forever reminds me of the 2000 year of Jubilee because that was the quoted Scripture for the theme of worship for the year. It was on multicolored logos on banners, posters, brochures and in homilies. When I was in Paterson, NJ I recall seeing it in Spanish on banners. The reading is about being steadfast, like a rock in faith. Time will change but Jesus is the same. It was a great blessing to be able to travel to Rome with my dad during the Jubilee year. There were church doors notably the one at St Peter's that are only opened during the Jubilee years.

I went through the Jubilee door at St Peters. I knelt at the entrance and prayed to leave behind all sin and false ways and to enter the church in a new grace and love of Christ. It was a touching experience. We were surrounded by people from around the world speaking in a multitude of languages. It was a beautiful thing to see a unity of love in people from all over the world gathered in shared faith.

To treat others with love and hospitality is to greet the God in them and make God present to them. We are told that through hospitality some have entertained angels. I believe that God sends people to use as messengers and we need to be mindful of God's love in our interactions with all people.