There is so much discussion these days—a lot of it heated—about refugees and immigrants. Xenophobia, the fear of strangers, “others,” seems to be rampant. We may feel uncomfortable, but what about them? Many are fleeing for their lives because of oppression and hate. And that’s rather uncomfortable. They may need to learn a new language, new ways of doing things, a new way of life. Many others who already live among us are not accepted because they “don’t fit in.”

With power-drunk Herod a real threat to their baby boy, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt, seeking asylum. They were refugees. We don’t know much about their stay there, but there were certainly language and cultural differences. To survive, they had to learn new things. They were tested and living in fear; life surely wasn’t easy for them. Were they in a Jewish community, or were they complete outsiders? How were they regarded by their new neighbors? Were they accepted with kindness, shunned, regarded with suspicion, or did they encounter open hostility? Did they have to sign a “Jewish registry”?

In God’s world, there is no “us and them”; there is just one big “us.” This Advent, as we prepare to welcome the gift of God’s love in human form, let us extend that love to the newcomer, the outsider, with open hearts and arms. We may someday be the strangers in need of kindness.

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