With the return of Donald Trump to the Whitehouse, the always contentious issues of immigration and control of our national borders have taken on renewed urgency. Who should be allowed to enter and stay in the US, accusations of large numbers of criminals crossing our borders illegally and allegations of family separations and unmerited deportations have fueled passions and protests on both sides of the issue. Of particular concern, is the empowerment of federal agents to enter schools and houses of worship to search for and detain alleged illegal immigrants.
The words of Emma Lazarus' poem, The New Colossus, memorialized on a plaque on the wall of the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands, continue to confront and confound us as a nation:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
It seems a particular section of the American population would prefer to repudiate the sentiment of Lazarus' poem altogether, opting instead for higher walls and increasing restrictions on all forms of immigration. On the other hand, some argue that the United States of America is a nation of immigrants and that our country continues to be strengthened by a vibrant immigrant population while recognizing the need for a comprehensive, strategic immigration policy.
It's above my pay grade and beyond my expertise and experience to offer much advice on the politics and policies of our nation's immigration system. However, as a Christian and a pastor, I believe I have the duty and the opportunity to remind us of the Bible's perspective and Jesus' teaching on the issue of relating to foreigners and strangers. Federal laws set the parameters of the nation's border policy. As followers of Jesus and people of the Book, we answer to a higher law – a kingdom of God ethic – as taught and modeled by Jesus regarding how we as individuals and bodies of believers respond to our neighbors from other nations and cultures.
In the book of Leviticus, we have the first words of God to the Israelites regarding foreign relations.
"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." (Lev. 19:33-34, NIV)
This command was a radical requirement that God placed on his people, a statute that I imagine was as unique and disrupting in its day as would be today if a US congressperson or senator espoused a similar policy – but there it is. Further, notice the similarities between God's reasoning for the requirement to treat foreigners as equals and the argument made by many Americans today for a more compassionate and generous approach to immigration: The Israelites were foreigners in Egypt. The vast majority of Americans are recent or historical immigrants from foreign lands.
The command to treat foreigners as your native-born is emphasized in Deuteronomy 27:19, where God proclaims, Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.
In the kingdom of God, along with orphans and widows, foreigners are recognized as especially vulnerable. Thus, rather than being ignored, exploited or demonized, they must receive adequate consideration and due process. We see this triad of vulnerability again in Psalm 146:9, where the Psalmist states explicitly that The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. These two verses offer a picture of God actively working against those who mistreat foreigners (and orphans and widows) by way of cursing their person and frustrating their plans.
As we move to the New Testament, we encounter Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25 in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. Here, Jesus pronounces a blessing or a curse relative to our treatment of the hungry, sick, imprisoned, and the stranger or foreigner, stating powerfully and alarmingly that whatever we did or did not do to aid someone in one of these vulnerable situations, the least of these – including the foreigner – we did or did not do it for Jesus himself. Thus, Jesus intimately aligns himself with the least and the last, including foreigners and strangers.1
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus responds to the religious lawyer's question, Who is my neighbor?, with a story that turns the question on its head. In his reply, Jesus highlights a hated Samaritan - a foreigner to the Israelite lawyer – as a hero of neighborliness. According to the parable, the critical question is not who my neighbor is and, thus, worthy of my care and concern. The question is, will we adopt a kingdom ethic of neighborliness that demonstrates compassion and generosity to anyone in need, especially the foreigner or stranger?
Finally, in his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul exhorts believers to Contribute to the needs of the saints, that is, fellow believers. But in the same breath, he adds, extend hospitality to strangers.2
The evidence is conclusive; regardless of national sentiment or governmental policy, followers of Jesus are bound to the ethics of the kingdom of God and the teachings and example of Jesus. An ethic that considers and even prioritizes the value and needs of the foreigner and the stranger, along with orphans and widows.
The testimony of scripture and the teaching of Jesus are not an excuse for the government of any country to have a laissez-faire approach to border security and the well-being of their citizens. Nor is a kingdom ethic ignorant of the fact that there are bad actors present in any group of people, including immigrants and foreigners. Local and national authorities should do their best to identify these people and judiciously deal with them. However, we ignore Jesus' teaching and the broader witness of scripture to our peril if we dismiss the needs of the foreigners among us or see them as less deserving of care and concern than ourselves on the one hand, or much worse, give credence to the political rhetoric that seeks to paint the majority of immigrants and refugees as violent, immoral or fanatical on the other.
As followers of Jesus, we are indeed bound by a kingdom ethic. However, this ethic is based on God's love and Jesus's sacrifice. Our awareness of God's love and our faith in the grace we have received in Christ frees us to work for the Glory of God and the Good of Our Neighbors, no matter who they are, where they are from or how they got here.
—Pastor Scott
1Matthew 25:31-46
2Romans 12:13