Acts 16:11-15 / John 15:26-16:4
There is no place like home. To call a place a home means that there is where we find security and comfort, a place where we would want to go to after a long and tiring day.
So to let someone stay in our home would mean two things: either it is out of obligation, e.g. a relative or someone who has a right to our hospitality.
Or it may mean that it is someone we can trust and have a great respect for, and we would feel at ease with that person's presence in our home.
In the 1st reading, we heard of Lydia, who listened to the Word of God, was baptised and then she invited Paul and his companions to stay in her home. She even insisted that they do so.
For itinerant preachers like Paul and his companions, that would sound like an offer too good to refuse.
But they too had to discern and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit before they could accept the offer.
They had faced dangers and persecutions and they had to be careful, and listen to what the Lord is telling them.
In the gospel, Jesus talked about persecutions and some think that it was a holy duty in doing so.
As for us, we need to be aware of the dangers and snares in life. We need to listen to the Word of God and to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, who will help us discern who is for us and who is against us.