January 23
Welcoming the Stranger
"I was a stranger and you invited me in."
— Matthew 25:35
Lord of welcome,
The other can frighten me. The one who is different, who thinks differently, who comes from elsewhere. My first reaction is often mistrust, withdrawal, judgment.
Open my heart to welcome. To see in the other not a threat but a richness, not a competitor but a brother or sister. Help me move beyond my prejudices, to open myself to what is different from me.
May I create spaces of welcome in my life. Where the other can be themselves, feel accepted, find their place. The welcome I give transforms me as much as the one who receives it.
Amen.
The other can frighten me. The one who is different, who thinks differently, who comes from elsewhere. My first reaction is often mistrust, withdrawal, judgment.
Open my heart to welcome. To see in the other not a threat but a richness, not a competitor but a brother or sister. Help me move beyond my prejudices, to open myself to what is different from me.
May I create spaces of welcome in my life. Where the other can be themselves, feel accepted, find their place. The welcome I give transforms me as much as the one who receives it.
Amen.
Reflection
Who is the stranger in your life? The one you have trouble welcoming? What small step could you take toward them?
For all strangers, all the excluded, and for a more welcoming world.