Merry Christmas!

There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home....

A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home...

To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.

G. K. Chesterton
from "The House of Christmas"
　
For two thousand years, people have found abundance of life, as they recalled the story of Jesus' birth in poverty. People have felt a sense of being at home, as they remembered Mary, Joseph, and shepherds, all so far from their homes in Bethlehem.

Whoever you are and whatever your circumstances might be, wherever you are on your spiritual journey and whatever your religious background might be, we hope you feel what we sincerely believe - that when you walked through the church doors and into this place, you were home for Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Re-published from "spirit", St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Richmond, VA