13TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

1st Reading            2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a

Psalm                       89: 2-3, 16-17, 18-19 (R. cf. 2a)

R:// "I will sing forever of your mercies, O Lord"

2nd Reading          Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11

Gospel                     Matthew 10: 37-42

HONOUR AND SAFEGUARD DIGNITY

Friends, Peace and Goodness! Today is the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) and the last Sunday of June. We thank God for bringing us thus far.

On this 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), our first reading is from 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16a. It is the story of the encounter between the Prophet Elisha and the Shunammite woman. Let us hold three details to heart from that narrative encounter. These details will be the identity of the woman, what she offered the prophet Elisha, and what the prophet Elisha gave to her as a reward.

The first detail is the identity of the woman, the central character of the passage. This should catch our attention because the narrative begins by stating that in Shunem lived "a wealthy woman" (2 Kgs. 4: 8). The author, in the original Hebrew text, described her as "ishah gedolah". "Ishah" is "woman". The word "gedolah" comes from the root "gadal" which carries the sense of being magnified, of growing large, of holding weight in the community. The text tells us who she is before it tells us what she does. This is the description of a woman of high ranking and importance in society. However, we begin to see that her greatness is tied to her hospitality. This would suggest that she was distinct in being hospitable.

How did she showcase her hospitality? That is where the summary of her action deserves our attention. This woman "URGED Elisha eat some food". This is a benign translation. Look at the weight of the original thought of the author. The word translated as "URGED" is the Hebrew "HAZAQ". This word means to seize or hold firm. It is the word translated also as to compel. Clearly, the woman is not giving Elisha a polite invite. She is insisting. The force of her invitation made it difficult for Elisha to refuse. She is just determined. Interestingly, the same word, "HAZAQ", appears in  Joshua 1:6 in the same root word when Joshua is told to "be strong". Clearly, the Shunammite woman's act of hospitality is one of strength and resolve. The woman's invitation was marked by such determination and persistence that Elisha could hardly ignore it. She does not wait for the prophet to announce himself. She rather perceives the holy before it declares itself and she acts on what she perceives. The point from the first set of details is that we do not need to have people to declare themselves before we assist them. In the act of assistance, social standing and weight do not matter. Our greatness is tied to our ability to help.

The second detail responds to what exactly went into the hospitality. What did the woman do for Elisha? Simply, she prepares a room for Elisha, and that little detail is worth pausing over. The Hebrew word used there for that ROOM is "aliyyah". This is an upper room, a room set apart, literally elevated above the rest of the house. She furnished it with four things. These are a BED, a TABLE, a CHAIR, and a LAMP. Why these? A bed is for rest. A table is for eating. A chair is for study, reflection and receiving guests. A lamp is for seeing in the dark. What the woman provides is a complete habitation, a place where a person can be fully human. She simply gives the prophet dignity and safeguards it. To be hospitable is to recognise and safeguard the dignity of another. Dignity cannot be lost because its source is divine, not human. However, human dignity can be trampled. The Shunammite shows that dignity should never be trampled. Regard and restore dignity. This is central to hospitality.

There is additional fascinating information about the room prepared for Elisha. When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek, the idea of the upper room (aliyyah) was often rendered with Greek words such as "anagaion". Fast forward to Luke 22:12 and you would see that "anagaion" is the same word used to describe the Upper Room where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples. That space given to Elisha, the holy man, is the space where life is offered and received. How? It was in the Upper Room that Jesus gave up his life for the life of the world. In addition to regarding dignity as a means of being hospitable, to give life and honour also goes into being hospitable.

The third detail is the reward Elisha announces to the woman. I want us to position our thoughts to realise that the reward Elisha announces is calibrated exactly to what the woman has given. She opened her home to life, so she receives life. Elisha told her that "At this season, when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son" (2 Kgs. 4:16a). This is pegged along the fact that the woman, although wealthy and of high social standing, "has no son, and her husband is old". This is important to establish something beautiful. They have NO SON, and her husband is Old. In the Old Testament, before this text, there is a family whose situation is recalled here. That is the family of Abraham. Abraham was of age and had no son.

In fact, the phrase "At this season" is translated from the Hebrew "ka'et chayyah". It is the same phrase that appears in Genesis 18:14, when God promises Abraham and Sarah a son. The reader of 2 Kings who knows the story of Sarah cannot miss it. The Shunammite woman has no son, and her husband is old. However, the prophet speaks the same words that once opened Sarah's womb. The Shunammite woman gave a room and received a son. She gave space to the holy and the holy gives her life. Hospitality to the prophet is a participation in the power the prophet carries. What the prophet carries is the life of God himself.

The Shunammite woman teaches us that hospitality is never wasted. She recognised the presence of God in His prophet and made room for him in her home. In return, God made room for new life in hers. The story reminds us that whenever we create space for God, for His word, and for His people, we open ourselves to the life that only God can give. True greatness is measured by the space we make for others, and the God who sees every act of generosity never fails to bless it.

Let us stop here in dealing solely with the first reading. May the Shunammite woman teach us to make room for God in our homes, in our hearts, and in the lives of those whom He sends to us.

Pax et Bonum