For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Matthew 25:35
I must speak up about this immigration/refugee issue. Clearly it is a problem. But for whom? Not just for the countries ‘receiving’ people, but for the people themselves who are fleeing horrific situations that I can not begin to imagine. I have no experience living in fear of suicide bombers, starvation, or drug dealers.
One of the building blocks of Judaism, Christianity and Islam ismigration. God told Abram to leave his country, and so began the wanderings of the Israelites. Ishmael, son of Abram and his slave Hagar, fled with his mother to the area of Mecca, and became a prophet of Islam. Jacob’s twelve children migrated to Egypt of avoid famine. The story of Ruth, the Moabite, is full of migration and intercultural relationships. Ruth marries Boaz, and gives birth to Obed, father of Jesse, and grandfather of David.
On a personal level, my American ancestors were immigrants from Scotland, England and Germany; when I married I migrated from Connecticut to Colorado to my present home in Massachusetts.
I know times are tough now, but if we don’t have a policy of welcoming the stranger, our hearts will begin to close and we will lose our freedom.