Hebrews 13: Kindness to Strangers
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Do not forget to show kindness to strangers, for by so doing some have welcomed angels unaware.
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The photo is a bronze statue by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, showing people crowded into a 20 foot skiff. Among the 140 sculpted faces are Africans who were forced onto slave ships; Vietnamese boat people fleeing a Marxist regime; a Cherokee on the Trail of Tears; Jews scarred by the Holocaust; Irish immigrants escaping the 19th century Potato Famine; and Syrians seeking peace. Even the Holy Family is in the crowd.
At its best, America was built by welcoming strangers, especially those with nowhere else to go.
Today, lots of Americans are feeling desperate and isolated. Covid makes the miracle of hospitality harder, but that just makes it more important than ever.
Acts of kindness and a welcoming spirit are the only antidotes to our anxiety and anger.
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We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.
--Martin Luther King Jr.