Today we see the people of God offering the hospitality rather than receiving it, first Abraham and then Martha. What lessons of discipleship can be learned from these readings? First and foremost we see how important openness is, for in each case those to whom the hospitality was offered were divine visitors in human form. We can never be sure under what guise God will come to us. It could be the person on the street who asks for directions, or the one who comes to our place of work to engage the service that we provide. It may be the friend who comes to dinner or the co-worker who acts in a way we did not expect. God comes into our lives in unexpected ways and we must have an open attitude of hospitality if we are to receive the blessings that might come with such visits. We know that we cannot lay aside the responsibilities of our lives in order to sit with Mary at the feet of Jesus. However, we cannot allow ourselves to be held captive by these responsibilities, regardless of how legitimate they may be. And so we continue to struggle; to carry the burdens that are ours for the sake of the people that we serve; to serve the people in our care realising that we will probably not be able to accomplish all of our tasks or at least as well as we would like. It is in this way that the reign of God struggles to be born.