The day had been long, yet now it was quiet and calm. Rain was gently coming down as he entered his train bound for home. Water streaks lined the window, slowly turning horizontal as the train picked up its speed. Happiness began to well up inside him as he thought about the fellowship that awaited him. His thoughts turned to the meal he would enjoy with his family, the conversations they would share around the table, and the warm fire burning in his hearth that would keep the companionship going late into the evening.
Shifting in his seat, he looked out the window and became lost in his thoughts.
The humdrum of train bustle was now a distant noise, fading into the background, as he had grown accustomed to it as he made his way home each day.
Sitting calm and content, he noticed something shift in the seat beside him. Nudged out of his reflection, he glimpsed a bag that had fallen off a stranger’s lap onto the ground. Leaning forward intently, he reached out and picked up the bag. Looking up, they met eyes and exchanged a pleasant smile. The stranger was an older gentleman who carried himself with dignity and strength, yet his demeanor also had a distant, mysterious sadness. No, not a sadness, he thought, but rather a solemnity. The kind that penetrates superficiality and indifference.
Unaware of what his gesture had cultivated, he left the train at his usual stop and walked toward the anticipated longings of his train contemplations.
Arriving at the approach of his home, he felt a brisk chill rush across his body. The air had quickly shifted cold. He looked up at the trees, bending to the wind’s sway. He was thankful for the wood he had set aside for winter and quickly advanced toward the front door. He was home. Entering in, the smell of food wafting throughout the house led his nose nearer its source. Voices were heard faintly in the bedrooms, and suddenly, he was overwhelmed by a powerful feeling of sleep.
Easing into the living room, he gathered kindling for the fire and carefully lit the wood, bringing a soft orange, dancing glow that added to an already cozy ambiance. He eased deep into a chair, glanced again at the fire, closed his eyes for what seemed like a minute, but was quickly ushered to sleep.
Blinking, he found himself in a new place. Startled by the unknown environment, he began investigating his surroundings, quickly turning his head this way and that. Unsure if he was still asleep, he wiped his eyes and then noticed a train approaching him, quietly at first and then all at once, loud and zooming right past where he stood.
The wind he felt coming across his body was cold and brisk, eerily similar to a chilly wind his memory faintly recalled. Not sure of where he was, and with a slight hesitation, he intently scanned the train that now sat motionless before him. As his evaluation was underway, the door to the train slid open, and an older gentleman was standing at the entrance with a warm and welcoming smile and dignified disposition, signaling him to join him on the train.
Entering in, he noticed other passengers quietly seated and going about their business. Looking through the windows, he saw a light rain steadily falling outside and beading up on the panes. Without warning, the train began to move; the beads of rain flowing down the train windows began to turn to horizontal water streaks as the train picked up speed. He sat down and, in a way, felt like he had sat in that seat before.
After being seated for what seemed like a while, he noticed something shift to his side. He looked over and down, and there was a bag at the foot of the same man who had welcomed him onto the train. Glancing up, they met eyes, and he offered the same warm and welcoming smile as he had when he entered the train but also a reminder of an earlier smile he had seen before. Previously, that smile from a similar-looking gentleman had also carried a solemn sense of mystery and years. This smile was similar but also brought with it anticipation and zeal.
Words began to fall from the older man’s mouth, and he marveled at what he was saying. In a short while, he explained that he was not a human like him but was a ministering angel sent from God to minister to those who would receive salvation (Hebrews 1:14). He went on to affirm him for his kind gesture in picking up the bag from the ground that had fallen off his lap. The older gentleman said his kindness in picking up the bag was actually an act of hospitality that delighted him as he was about his business. The older gentleman’s words comforted him as he pondered what he had said.
Feelings of cold air swept over him again, but a wave of warmth and love followed this time. He heard a distant voice, “Honey? Honey? I saw that you got a fire going…” Slowly, he opened his eyes to see his wife standing beside him in the chair. She smiled, asked if he had decided to doze off for a minute, and thanked him for starting the fire.
Leaning forward, he said to his wife, “You’ll never believe what happened on the way home today.” “Tell me,” she said.
Coming to the table, he sat down and began sharing all he had just experienced. She smiled and calmly replied…
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:2
— December 4, 2024