I began my life with a perpetually unhappy father. Because of this, I went to 17 schools. Yes, really. I was always the "new kid." I was the one who didn't know you absolutely did not undress for PE in my seventh grade school, AND did not know you absolutely did undress for PE in my eighth grade school. I did it wrong both places, much to my chagrin. I am the one who has no answer for "Who was your first grade teacher?" because I had three of them in three different schools. How was I supposed to remember any of them?! I was a stranger over and over.
As a very young adult, I chose to be a stranger again: I joined the Peace Corps. I was sent to Jamaica, a country that seems very similar to the United States, from the outside. From the non-tourist places that I lived, it was most assuredly a foreign land. I was on the outside in so many ways! I couldn't go shopping by myself because I was White and female. When I did go shopping with my Jamaican housemates, they got tomatoes (or whatever) at one price, and I got them at a much higher price. And what we ate?! That was strange, too. I ate goat head soup, chicken foot soup, and much more. My very limited experience in foods was expanded far beyond my comfort zone!
When I returned to the States with my husband, we found we couldn't have biological children and decided to adopt. We were open to any race, and were placed with two African-American/White biracial children. And again I became a stranger: I was a White woman with Black kids. That meant stares and comments from every side, most of them unkind. After an ugly divorce, I finished raising my Black kids in the small town in Iowa where I taught... and where my kids were two of the four Black kids in the town. Strangers, we were, no doubt.
Much later, after remarrying and adopting my granddaughter, my family moved to a Native American reservation in New Mexico. I'd always been a Midwesterner, the Southwest culture was different enough to make me a stranger again, not to mention living in a small town where we were among the very few White people. Double-stranger. And then we took in two Native American foster sons: Triple-Stranger!!
Being a stranger is fairly familiar to me, obviously. Even at 57, I'm not sure I actually belong any specific place. However, I do know that nowhere on this earth is my home. My home is in heaven with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. There I will finally belong.
Here on earth, though, I've been doing a lot of thinking about being a stranger and how the Bible says we should treat strangers. Abraham was a stranger in a strange land. So was Sarah. And Lot. And the entire Israelite Nation in Egypt. Lots of strangers in foreign lands in the Bible. Even Jesus lived in Egypt as a young boy while Herod was hunting for him to kill him.
The Bible has a lot to say about strangers, foreigners, sojourners, aliens, and neighbors. Almost every word of it is requiring that we, God's people, take care of these strangers (Leviticus 19:33-34, Exodus 22:21, Matthew 25:35, Matthew 25:31-46, Galatians 5:14). In a few cases, the Bible is saying that these strangers are held to the same laws as God's people (Leviticus 22:10, Leviticus 17:8-9).
Lest someone accuse me of ignoring selected parts of God's Word, there are also portions of the Bible that clearly admonish us to obey the civil leaders of our world (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13). And yet, the Hebrew women just as clearly disobeyed the civil leaders when they hid their baby boys. And the disciples disobeyed civil and religious leaders when they continued to preach the gospel following Jesus' death and resurrection. Acts 5:29 says, "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.'"
Obey God. That is our duty as Christians. That is our joy as Christians. I have sought God's leadership on the issue of the treatment of immigrants. I have read news, opinions, and information on as many sides of this issue as I can find. And finally, I feel strongly that I cannot stand on the sidelines anymore.
We Christians of good conscience cannot allow the climate of our nation to continue to decline into "us vs. them" thinking. Luke 10 (The Good Samaritan) tells us that our neighbor can be "one of them." And in many places, the Bible tells us (Mark 12:31) to love our neighbor as ourselves.
I am not arguing that the United States should practice an entirely open border policy. Nor am I condemning particular lawmakers or any law enforcers. I am not saying that Homeland Security or ICE should ignore legitimate threats, no matter their source. I am saying that I believe Christians should be standing with the oppressed, the stranger, the poor, the orphan and the widow.
Let me say that again: I believe that Christians should be standing with the oppressed, the stranger, the poor, the orphan and the widow. In other words, we should be standing with our neighbors, loving them as ourselves.
How can we love our neighbors right now?
By standing up for those being persecuted. When you see an injustice, stand up for that person. If someone is being beaten, call the police. If the person ahead of you in the checkout line is being grilled about their method of payment, step in and say something. Tell the clerk she's wrong for berating the WIC or food support benefits user. If an Hispanic man is being forced to produce ID that you didn't have to produce for the same purpose, ask the official why. If a policy offends you, speak up. If an official shows hatred to a group of people, refuse to vote for him/her. If you didn't vote in the last election, register to vote today. Wherever people are marginalized, stand with them.
I find it hard to believe that any Christian would defend Hitler's demonization of the Jews in the 1930's and 1940's. We look back at resisters like Corrie ten Boom as heroes of the faith. As Christians, there are times we must resist. And I believe that time is now. We must resist the tendency in our society to demonize Muslims, Immigrants, and persons of color. We must stand with them as our neighbors. Loving our neighbors as ourselves.
They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
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