Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.

Washington Irving

History and literature brim with accounts of the wonderful gift of hospitality. In Charles Dickens’ immortal and beloved A Christmas Carol, it is the rich man with the big house, Ebenezer Scrooge, who locks his door and heart tightly to others, content to count his gold and silver coins. It takes an ethereal ghost and the fear of what the afterlife—chains and all—might hold for him to awaken Scrooge to the soulless and cruel miserliness of his ways. Soon after he sees the light, he is welcomed into the humble home of Bob Cratchett, where the air is cold but the hearts are warm, where he sees with his own eyes the responsibility and richness of opening one’s heart and home to others.

But my house isn’t very big and my furniture isn’t very nice. We get so tired out by the holidays. We just want some down time.

Not sure about your gift of hospitality? First of all, if you have a smile, a warm heart, and a few kind words, no one cares how grand or simple your house is.  It was the investor Charles M. Schwab who said:  “Money will buy you a bed but not a good night sleep, a house but not a home, a companion but not a friend.” Second, you are wise to pace yourself over the Christmas season and not fill every square in your December calendar with activities. You need not feel guilty for that down time you’ve been looking forward to.

But the simple truth is that hospitality is good for the soul; it allows you to connect with others and is a tangible expression that you care for them.

Two thousand years go, an unnamed innkeeper, his guest rooms already filled, opened his heart and what accommodations he could muster to a young couple with nowhere else to turn. His home was the site of the greatest miracle in the history of mankind.

Shepherds and angels may not appear at your front door when you invite the neighbors over, but a special blessing awaits you and them!

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:2