JESUS WAS A REFUGEE

I would like to reiterate that my blog and facebook blog posts are intended to address Christians. My tag line is “Challenging the Church to be the Church.”

In recent weeks I have posted a number of comments on my facebook blog page about the refugee crisis. I am somewhat grieved by the Christians who are contentious on this matter.  One of the primary mistakes people are making in their responses is the failure to divorce their responsibilities as Christians from their nations concerns.

One person honestly asked about the need to balance the love of Christ with the need for security. Here is my response:

My response is not just for you but for the many who might read this. I would simply say that sometimes the balance you ask about involves a risk. Though I personally don’t think that part of the equation (the risk issue) is our (i.e., the Church’s) responsibility. Our job is to love like Jesus.

The nation’s job is to maintain national security. And the US has one of the most extensive vetting processes already in place. But if they choose to close the borders because Christians are telling them to do so, then we have a problem.

Christians should be advocating love towards everyone! Period. Sure, we all take the personal responsibility to lock our doors, etc. But to shut them and not let them in: ever?

The entire Bible (OT/NT) is a story about refugee people! We are “strangers and exiles on the earth” (Heb 11:13). Jesus told parables about welcoming the refugees. He says, “I was a stranger and you let me in” (Matt 25:35).

Jesus Himself was a refugee—remember the Christmas story how they fled to Egypt because Herod wanted to kill Him?

The early Christians were refugees after Saul began to hunt them down. Christians over the centuries have been refugees!

So, where is the Church now? Are we hiding behind our western comforts? Sleeping in warm beds and homes while others are struggling to survive? Are we content and well fed while others go hungry? Are we amusing ourselves with all the luxuries of the western world, while others flee?

I could go on for a long while with Scripture after Scripture (OT and NT) that commands that we take them in! Love our neighbor; love the alien within our midst; They will know we are Christians by our love; etc. Why are we as Christians more concerned about political argumentation and our nation’s self-interest than we are our responsibilities toward the refugee?

(Note: I am not saying that we don’t have the responsibility to our families and our neighbors to be wise. Neither am I saying that a nation shouldn’t do what is right for its national interests. Nor, am I saying that nations do not have the responsibility to protect its citizens. In fact, I am not addressing how a nation responds!)

Instead, I am speaking as a pastor and a leader in the Church. I am speaking as a scholar and a teacher. I think I know the Word a little. And the Scriptures I read are unambiguous on this one. What I am saying, then, is that for the Church the command to love trumps these in times like this. Love the refugee. “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb 13:2).

Lord, Jesus, have mercy on your Church, that we might give mercy to the world.