🕊 Dwelling in the Word: The Open Table

📜 Instructions

Find a quiet space where you can read slowly and reflect deeply. Before beginning, take a few deep breaths. Read the scripture aloud—once for the mind, and again for the heart. As you read, notice what word or phrase stands out. Let it linger. Don’t rush to interpret. Simply dwell.

📖 Scripture: Genesis 18:1–15 (NRSV)

¹ The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.² He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground.³ He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant.⁴ Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.⁵ Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”⁶ And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.”⁷ Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.⁸ Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹ They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”¹⁰ Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?”¹³ The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’¹⁴ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”¹⁵ But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”

📖 Scripture: Matthew 25:35 (NRSV)

³⁵ “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…”

✨ Devotional

Hospitality is not just a gesture—it’s a sacred posture of the heart. In Genesis, Abraham’s open tent becomes the doorway to divine promise. He does not know who the visitors are, but he offers rest, food, and presence without hesitation. In Matthew, Jesus reveals that every stranger is an opportunity to serve Him. These texts remind us that God often arrives disguised as a guest—and that miracles are often born at the table.

💬 Reflection Questions

1. What phrase or image stayed with you as you read these scriptures?

2. How do you respond to strangers in your daily life? Do you see them as burdens or opportunities?

3. When have you been surprised by grace in an ordinary moment of welcome or kindness?

4. Is anything in your life “too wonderful” to believe God could still do it?

5. What would it look like to turn your home, your heart, or your habits into an open table this week?

   
   

🙏 Prayer

God of open tents and broken bread, Thank You for meeting us not just in temples, but in the shade of trees and at crowded tables. Give us eyes to see You in the stranger, the outsider, and the one we’ve overlooked. Teach us to offer hospitality not out of obligation, but from joy. And when we laugh in disbelief, remind us: nothing is too wonderful for You. Amen.