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March 3, 2022

Showing Hospitality to Christ (A Cypriot Folk Tale)


Once there was a woman. One day on her property she met Jesus Christ. She greeted Him, she did a prostration before Him, kissed His hand and said:

"I am waiting for you to come to my house tomorrow. I will prepare. You will come?"

"I will come."

Then the woman went, quickly swept, mopped, set her tablecloths, all that was fine ... everything matched. She had already cooked, put the dishes on the table, everything was ready and she waited for Jesus Christ to come. Wait, wait, wait… Behold, an old man asking for charity appeared.

"Be merciful, my daughter."

"Get lost, go about your business. I scold strangers."

She kicked him out. After a while another one appeared.

"One goes, another comes? I scold strangers and you old men bombard me? Go about your business."

Then an old woman appeared. She kicked her out too. She waited and waited, Christ did not appear.

The next day, the woman came out in the morning. She went to find Jesus Christ. She said to Him:

"I waited for you to come all day, and I got ready…"

"I came three times," He told her, "and you got rid of me. Three times I came and you kicked me out."

"When did you come? I didn't see you."

"You didn't see me? Who was that old man? Who was the other sick person? Who was the old woman who came?"

Then the woman became stiff and looked at Him. She didn't know what to say.

When a poor person comes to us, we think they are not Jesus Christ. Did you not hear Him say: "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me"?