“Who is my neighbor?” the expert in the Law asked Jesus when confronted with the biblical imperative to love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus replied with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). In those days helping a Samaritan would have been anathema to the good Jew because the Samaritan’s religion had been corrupted by intermarriage with pagans. The expert in the law thought that his question would justify his prejudices. But Jesus used a Samaritan as the example of a good neighbor, one who had mercy on anyone who needed it.
Today our neighbor is the immigrant.
An Immigrant’s Story
Imagine leaving your home, your extended family, and your possessions because of war or political/religious persecution in your land, the home that you loved. Imagine living in a refugee camp in a tent among hundreds or thousands of other displaced people. Your hope is to find a permanent home of safety for your children to grow up and flourish, a place where you could work and provide for your family.
After filling out papers and proving your identity and years of being checked out by the American government, you receive approval to immigrate to the United States. But then you have to wait your turn, which could take years.
Finally, it is your turn. The U.S. government paid for your travel, and you arrive safely. But everything is all so different from home. You aren’t fluent in English—or even Spanish. You don’t understand how the systems work—public transportation, schools or money.
Thankfully, the U.S. government partners with helpful non-profits, which are often Christian, to help our neighbors acclimate. They offer ESL classes so they communicate well enough to be hired, and they offer services to help navigate a new culture.
The government contracts with the non-profits to reimburse them for only 90 days of rent. That meant that you need a job as soon as possible. Because you know some English, you land a job with a non-profit that hires refugees.
But almost immediately after you begin, your employer informs you that the President of the United States had just signed an order to cut off all resettlement money and stop all flights for new refugees. That means that the resettlement non-profit will be reimbursed by the government to pay your rent. Will they be able to handle all the immigrants’ rent money and other needs? If you can’t pay your rent, you will be out on the streets.
This is a true story of one of our neighbors, the immigrant. And there are thousands of similar stories.
What are the results of the Executive Orders affecting refugees, legal immigrants?
They stranded hundreds of immigrants in airports awaiting a connecting to a flight, left with no ticket back and a cancelled ticket to the United States.
The orders left hundreds of non-profits across the country without promised funds to help their clients, refugees who are legally here, pay their rent or receive services to acclimate to America. One such Christian group, World Relief, will be 8 million dollars short to continue paying rent and providing other services to new immigrants without churches and us as individuals contributing generously.
Two days ago I watched via Zoom as two pastors on a World Relief panel shared how the immigrants in their congregations were afraid to come to church, although they were legally here. A pastor said that a group dropped out of a Bible study where they were beginning to learn about Jesus.
Some legal residents have been detained by ICE. Once detained, they cannot get out until they have a hearing, which could take months or years.
Immigrants who work in a non-profit reported a father taken by ICE as he dropped his son at school. The schools are having to teach even the youngest children what to do if their parents disappear. Parents are signing papers to give guardianship of their children to others in case they are taken.
It’s time for the church to step up and fill the gap left by the government in order to love our neighbor, the immigrant, by donating generously to non-profits that resettle immigrants. To speak up against the inhumane treatment of immigrants. To pray up—that the church will be the church, that the President will rescind the orders creating broken promises, and that ICE will target people accused of felonies, not the entire immigrant population.
The Biblical Imperatives
Personally, we must live out Jesus’ command: “In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets” (Matt. 7:12).
Jesus’ teaching in Matt. 25:31, 34-40 is clear. (The entire passage includes vv. 31-46.)
When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. . . .
Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the king will answer them, “I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me. . . .”
Why Did God Look for Someone to Stand in the Gap?
We love Ezekiel 22:30, but the context with v. 29 is rarely mentioned:
“The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the resident foreigner and denied them justice.
I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.”
God’s Heart for immigrants
We see God’s heart for humane treatment of immigrants throughout the Bible. There are actually thousands of verses referring to them, and all are clear: Ex. 22:21; 23:9; Lev. 19:33-34; Num. 15:16; Deut. 1:16; 10:18; 24:17, 19-21; 24:19; Ps. 94:6; Eze. 22:7, 29; 47:23; Jer. 7:6; 22:3; Zec. 7:10: Mal. 3:5.
Actions to take right now to be a neighbor to the immigrant
World Relief suggests three actions:
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- Donate to a group like World Relief that is desperate for funds to fill the gap for housing and services for immigrants.
- Advocate for humane treatment by contacting your Senators and Congressman. Go to World Relief’s Advocate Page or those of other advocates to sign petitions. Or you can download and even personalize this message. Find your Congressional Representative and Senator here.
- Pray for the church to unify and stand strong in Jesus’ name for immigrants.
Read more facts about the results of the Executive orders from World Relief itself.
Watch or listen to Kay’s story about her trip to the border “Learning to Love our Neighbors.”