By Rev. Dr Katherine Rainger, Senior Chaplain

“I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matthew 25:35)

There is a haunting passage at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel where King Herod, an unstable, insecure ruler, hears that a new king has been born. This is part of the story told at Christmas. Wise Ones (aka ‘The Three Wise Men’) from foreign lands come to bring their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the child Jesus.

On route to finding the child the travellers are welcomed into Herod’s court. When they share with Herod that they have seen it written in the stars that an anointed leader has been born, Herod responds with a violent and deadly campaign. Every male child under the age of two is to be killed to eradicate the risk to Herod’s power.

The sound of wailing is heard as mothers cry for their children (Matthew 2:18). The child Jesus and his parents Mary and Joseph have already escaped to Egypt due to being warned in a dream to flee. They abruptly leave their small community, not knowing the horrors that will follow, and venture into an uncertain future. The Holy family commence a journey that thousands have made in the past and continue to make today – a journey to escape danger and find freedom.

This year’s theme for Refugee Week is Finding Freedom: Family. Year 9 students have undertaken a deep dive into learning about the issues impacting refugees and asylum seekers through the Worn Soles program. We are grateful to community members such as Garang Bul who has a decade long connection with Radford College through the Worn Soles program and Eagles Basketball, a program for Radford students and youth from the South Sudanese community.

Australia has had a long history of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers and helping people to restart their lives. My hope is that governments of all persuasions will continue to respond with truth, compassion and wisdom to the very real needs and embrace the contribution that refugees and asylum seekers make within our communities. Organisations in Canberra such as Companion House, Canberra Refugee support and Refugee Action Campaign do an incredible job providing advocacy and practical care.

In 2014 Rev Nguyễn Hữu Trí’, a refugee from Vietnam, walked from Melbourne to Canberra on a ‘pilgrimage of gratitude’ to express his thanks to Australia for the gift of refuge and to help raise awareness about the issues affecting asylum seekers. His reflection ten years on makes for compelling reading.

There is a long tradition in the Christian faith of praying with the help of icons. Icons are artworks that help us focus on God through ‘seeing again’. I wonder what you notice in Kelly Latimore’s icon ‘Refugees: The Holy Family’.