Welcome …  
These few days before Christmas … the closing days of Advent, are a truly wonderful time of the year. A time of gratitude, of reflection, of preparation, of getting ready. Sometimes, that readiness, or rather, getting ready can seem overwhelming. I see relatives and others scurrying around, decorating trees, making decisions about presents, setting up schedules for visits, and much sitting in traffic jams.

Of course, for those of us in the Christian tradition, there is another welcome on the way. The preparation during Advent for the arrival of the baby Jesus can, for many, be an important sign of what knits all these other (slightly commercial) traditions around this time of year. It is impossible for those of other faiths or spiritual paths not to be affected in some way or another. This has led us to express ourselves in welcoming ways such as the greeting “Happy Holidays” to everyone, regardless of their disposition towards Advent and Christmastide.

The reminder of the importance of being welcoming, friendly, even loving at Christmas time has caused us to vilify those who are not. Perhaps in a joking way, we have movies and books about being a Grinch. If someone is less than generous or mean-spirited they get reminded of it; in order they get out of that mood and into the holiday spirit. To become more welcoming, to change their “normal” way of being.

In a visit to relatives and a short retreat in Britain this Advent this welcoming character became very obvious to me. It is almost forty years since we emigrated to the USA and made America the place where our family grew and settled. In visiting towns and areas around England and Wales, I found myself welcomed into Churches for Nativity and Carol Services; plied with ample traditional mince pies and mulled wine; and the joy of unrehearsed children replaying a Nativity scene, all being led by a Pastor with a church filled closer to capacity than is normal these days.

One gentleman and his wife even invited me to their home to see how it was the local priory before the English Reformation in the thirteenth century. Joy indeed. (Thank you David and Jackie)

On another visit, after a long day of driving, I found myself looking for a hostelry as the evening drew near. Pulling over to a service station, I Googled the local area and found a pub, which, upon calling, did have room at the inn. The Parsons Woodforde phone was answered by the hostess, Alison, who made me feel as if she had been waiting for my call all evening. I booked the room and headed out.

What followed that evening was one of the best examples of welcoming and hospitality I have encountered in my life. The hostess made me welcome, told me about the fire drill with all the humor of a SouthWest flight attendant, and got me settled in and booked for supper.

Aside from the room and the food being excellent, Alison, (who was there on duty till late in the evening and first thing in the morning for breakfast), punctuated her interaction with the guests with humor and gusto. She was so very obviously happy in her work, and the welcomingness seeped out of her uncontrollably. “I am just going to swim out to the rubbish bins” she quipped, noting the inclement weather we had been dealt with on this Advent morning, needing to dispose of the trash.

All of us, at this time of year, have this reminder, sometimes subtle, sometimes loud, to be more welcoming, to be ready to see each other in a different light. To put the welcome and Christmas cheer into our lives. Imagine if we could not only be reminded of this now but keep it year-round. What a different world it might be if that happened.

We are about to Welcome the Child in the next few days. The Savior who came to instruct us how to be. To love God, but also to love one another. Even our enemies.

To love is to welcome all. Many Churches and organizations proclaim their welcome with a sign which reads “All Are Welcome”, and then, some less generously, describe what exactly that means by their actions.

Perhaps this season, we can try and hang on to the welcome for days after Christmastide, and prolong the delight through the New Year.

How does your empathy for others change at this time of year? What can we do for those less fortunate than ourselves? These are questions that beg, what do we have written on our faces when we meet others?

It is an authentic “welcome” or just a seasonal one? I know the wonder of this season should be extended, and next year will try and make it Christmas every day for someone. Perhaps someone I have yet to meet.

Christmas Carol Service led by Reverend Miriam Fife, All Saints, Licham, Norfolk, England

The Hostess

Just a fleeting moment,

Less than 24 hours,

As I rested at her home,

And experienced her untethered love.

Not the physical side,

Although she was beautiful,

Not in a Hollywood formula,

But from the inside out.

When a welcome is not contrived, but true.

And the traveler is invited to stay,

With all the details of a visit explained,

With humor and with love.

No attention to detail is too much,

But the guest is not smothered,

Rather gently informed through humor and incitefulness,

Without overpowering them.

This hospitality cannot be taught,

Cannot be learned,

Or acquired by certificate.

It is from within and distributed liberally from this soul.

The spirit of hospitality lives,

In places such as this,

In hearts such as hers,

In a world filling up with grace.

If only we can let it go … as she does.

Reflection, Poem and Image Copyright 2023 Michael J. Cunningham