This time of year always draws me back to the heart of the Christmas story. It is a story full of angels and shepherds and songs of peace, but at its core it is about a young family on the move. Mary and Joseph were traveling because they had to. They were vulnerable. They were outsiders in Bethlehem. They relied on the hospitality of strangers. The first people who greeted them were not community leaders or wealthy benefactors. The welcome came in the form of a stable and a manger. It was not fancy, but it was enough. It was gracious. It was a place to rest, to breathe and to bring new life into the world.

Over the past few weeks our nation, our state and our community has heard negative comments directed toward our Somali neighbors. The tone and content of those comments have left many feeling hurt, confused and unwelcome. As I have listened, I find myself returning again and again to that Christmas story. It reminds me that God shows up most clearly when people choose compassion rather than fear. The Holy Family found safety only because someone made space for them. That welcome shaped the world that followed.

Communities, like individuals, are shaped by the choices we make. We can choose suspicion, or we can choose hospitality. We can choose to focus on differences, or we can focus on the possibilities that come when people bring their lives, gifts and stories into a shared place. Our Somali neighbors have become part of the fabric of Owatonna. We work together, our kids attend school together, we all contribute to the local economy, and collectively, we all bring rich cultural traditions into our shared life. They are neighbors. They are parents, children, coworkers and friends. They are people created by God who deserve the dignity and respect that all people deserve.

Christmas reminds us that God enters the world through unexpected people in unexpected ways. The shepherds were not the ones anyone would have chosen to receive a divine message, yet they were the first to hear the angel’s song. The stable was not the place anyone would expect to find the presence of God, yet it was exactly where love took on flesh. When we offer welcome, we become part of that same surprising movement of grace.

Our calling as neighbors is not complicated. We are invited to practice simple kindness. To speak truth with gentleness. To listen before we judge. To learn from one another. To create a community where every child feels safe and where every family has the chance to thrive. We cannot undo every harmful word that has been spoken, but we can set a different tone for what comes next.

As Christmas approaches, my prayer is that we reclaim the spirit of that first night in Bethlehem. A spirit that says there is room here. A spirit that sees strangers as potential friends. A spirit that believes that love is stronger than fear. If God chose to enter the world through a story of welcome, we can certainly choose the same.

Rev. Todd Buegler is the senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna.  

This article was first published in the Owatonna People’s Press in their regular, weekly “Pastor’s Perspective” column