February 5th

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2

perhaps

if we saw the person

who doesn't speak a 

word of our language 

as made in the divine image

and not as a danger,

if we realized the couple

with the newborn baby

driving the dented and 

paint-peeling van was a

holy family not just homeless,

if we didn't quickly turn out

the lights and hide in the

shadows of the hallway

as the wearer of life-stained

clothes and hole-y shoes

came toward the church door,

we might realize that angels

never look like the folks 

in the pictures in our Bibles.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman