This week leading up to the Christmas
celebration I’ve been sharing some Christmas parables. This one is entitled, “THE
DINNER GUEST’ and the author is unknown. Enjoy and have a joy-filled very merry
Christmas.
All Ruth
had for mail that day was a single letter. She picked it up, looking at the
back and the front of the envelope as she noticed there was something odd.
There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. With a little
curiosity, she opened the letter and read:
Dear Ruth,
I'm going to
be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.
Love
Always,
Jesus
Her hands were
shaking as she placed the letter on the table. "Why would the Lord want to
visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer."
As if to confirm
that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. "Oh my goodness,
I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and
buy something for dinner." She reached for her purse and counted out its
contents. Five dollars and forty cents. "Well, I can get some bread and
cold cuts, at least."
She threw on her
coat and hurried out the door.
She bought a loaf of French bread, a half-pound
of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk.
Leaving Ruth
with a grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she
felt satisfied as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
"Hey lady,
can you help us, lady?" Ruth was startled to see two figures huddled in
the alleyway near the store. She had been so absorbed in her dinner plans she
had not noticed a man and a woman, dressed in little more than rags looked up
at her.
"Lady, I
ain't' got no job and my wife and I have been living out here on the street,
and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda of hungry and, well,
if you could help us, ma'am, we'd really appreciate it."
The man looked
sheepishly at Ruth.
Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled
bad and, frankly, she thought that they could get some kind of work if they
really wanted to.
"I'd really
like to help you, but I'm poor myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some
bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning
on serving that to Him." The man said in a resigned tone, "Yeah,
well, OK lady, I understand. Thanks anyway."
The man put his
arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and together, they headed back into
the shadows of the alley.
As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar
twinge in her heart.
"Hey!
wait!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.
"Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to
serve my guest." She handed the man her grocery bag. "Thank you lady.
Thank you very much!" The woman smiled softly, "Yes, thank
you!"
Ruth could see
now that woman was shivering. "You know, I've got another coat at home.
Here, why don't you take this one." Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped
it over the woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the
street... without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest. As she turned
the corner, she heard the couple say once again, "Thanks again
Ma'am!"
Ruth was chilled
by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to
visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse
for the door key. As she glanced down, she noticed another envelope in her mail
slot. "Well, That's strange. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one
day."
Entering her
house, she dropped the groceries on a near by table and opened the letter.
Dear Ruth,
It was so good
to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful
coat.
Love Always,
Jesus
The air was
still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.
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