Georgus of Beirut
On Strangers
HE AND HIS friends were in the grove of pines beyond my hedge, and He
was talking to them.
I stood near the hedge and listened. And I knew who He was, for His fame
had reached these shores ere He Himself visited them.
When He ceased speaking I approached Him, and I said, "Sir, come with
these men and honor me and my roof."
And He smiled upon me and said, "Not this day, my friend. Not this day."
And there was a blessing in His words, and His voice enfolded me like
a garment on a cold night.
Then He turned to His friends and said, "Behold a man who deems us not
strangers, and though He has not seen us ere this day, he bids us to His
threshold.
"Verily in my kingdom there are no strangers. Our life is but the life
of all other men, given us that we may know all men, and in that knowledge
love them.
"The deeds of all men are but our deeds, both the hidden and the revealed.
"I charge you not to be one self but rather many selves, the householder
and the homeless, the ploughman and the sparrow that picks the grain ere
it slumber in the earth, the giver who gives in gratitude, and the receiver
who receives in pride and recognition.
"The beauty of the day is not only in what you see, but in what other
men see.
"For this I have chosen you from among the many who have chosen me."
Then He turned to me again and smiled and said, "I say these things to
you also, and you also shall remember them."
Then I entreated Him and said, "Master, will you not visit in my house?"
And He answered, "I know your heart, and I have visited your larger house."
And as He walked away with His disciples He said, "Good-night, and may
your house be large enough to shelter all the wanderers of the land."
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