Strangers at the Door

(A prayer for refugees and asylum seekers)

Do we hear the knocking at the door?
Do we open the door?

Are we afraid?
Or are we ashamed the house is a mess?

Do we welcome the stranger?
Do we recognize the gifts they bring?
Do we trust their story?
Do we accept the gifts they have brought from afar?
Do we allow them to change us?
Do we realize that only by opening the door
will we recognize the true Christ,
the God who is hidden in smallness,
who arrives in unexpected places, at unexpected times?

Do we hear the knocking at the door?
Who will open the door?
Who will open the door?

-- Fiona van Wissen, from Winter: Liturgical Resources for November, December, and January