The Shorter Road to the Shechinah
Welcoming guests warmly, even those who may not deserve it, draws the same mercy down upon the host.
Chazal teach that welcoming guests is greater than greeting the Shechinah. The Yismach Yisroel explains why. To greet the Shechinah, a person first needs great preparation, making himself into a throne on which the Divine Presence can rest, and that is very hard to do. But someone who brings in every guest who arrives, receives each with a warm and open face, and has compassion on them even when they are neither fit nor worthy, merits something remarkable. Hashem awakens the same measure of compassion toward him, though he, too, may be neither fit nor worthy. That measure of mercy lifts him to high and exalted levels, until he beholds the radiance of the light of the King's face. Welcoming others is thus a shorter road to Hashem than preparing oneself to receive the Shechinah.
Source: Yismach Yisroel, Vayeira, on hachnasas orchim (Bereishis 18; Shabbos 127a)
Think of one person you tend to hold at a distance, a neighbor who is awkward, a relative who talks too long or a guest you were not expecting. Welcome that person this week with a smile, a chair and your full attention, and give your time without looking at the clock. You are not asking whether he has earned it. The Yismach Yisroel promises that the measure of mercy you give is the measure you will receive, and that it can lead you by a shorter road to Hashem.