Citizens

When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

~ Leviticus 19:33-34

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 welcomes me, 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... 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these siblings of mine, you did it to me.'

~Matthew 25:35-36;40b

Immigration, border control, and refugees have been the focus of much conversation and debate recently. I’m not going to pretend like I have the right answer nor am I going to risk getting into the politics of it all. Much of it has become far too muddy for most of us to understand and so many lies are told from either side of the aisle that it becomes so hard to know what is true, mostly true, false, or a flat-out lie. These are things of the earth. What I will speak of, what I have dedicated my life to, is speaking of faith and how God commands us to act to those around us – our neighbors near and far. This is the law of God.

When the crowd gathers around him, Jesus does not ask to see their documents before he teaches them and feeds them. Before giving sight to the sightless, Jesus does not ask where they are from. Jew and gentile alike, Jesus is with them. He feeds, heals, teaches, and sits with thousands not because they have some territorial birthright, but because it is what they need.

Let the lawmakers keep fighting over the things of this earth and where to draw lines. Pray and vote with your faith (more on this at a future date). Over and above these things, remember that Jesus Christ is found in all of those you come across. Choose love over policy. Choose hope over despair. Choose hospitality over discrimination.

There is a song that I stumbled upon a few years ago (thank you, Spotify’s Discover Weekly) by a man named John Guerra. He write what he calls ‘devotional music.’ “Less Sunday morning worship music and more Monday morning prayer music” Four years ago he came out with a song titled “Citizens” that I listen to about once a week. I invite you into this same space in dwelling, prayer, and conversation with his words. The song can be found at the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOQVaGqTBFE

As always, peace, love, and hope be with you,

Pastor Joseph