I was a Stranger

                Over the past few months the droves of disappointed voters flocked to various public platforms to voice their discontent with the outcome of the last presidential election. President Trump has discovered that being president is not nearly as much fun as running for president. He’s also discovered the constitutional limits and leadership challenges of the Presidency, enduring the unending stream of criticism directed at all presidents. And, sadly, he generates much of the criticism due to behavioral and policy issues. But now, those of us who claim the name of Christ find ourselves faced with a moment in which we may stand together for an issue of import, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program; commonly referred to as DACA.

                This morning my daily devotional reading took me to Matthew 25. Here in the final days before the crucifixion Jesus talks about end times and the separation of the sheep and goats. Among the failures of the goats He listed, “…⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me…”.

The goats complain, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger…?”

Jesus replies, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”

And the goats then shuffle off in the sad darkness of eternal separation from the Lord. Matthew 25:43-46 English Standard Version (ESV), modified for length and emphasis.

This is not a solitary moment in the sweep of scripture. Throughout the Bible, God proclaims His love for the sojourner. At Sinai, with the dust of Egypt still fresh on their sandals, God reminds the Children of Israel to always take care of the sojourner, remembering that they too were once sojourners. Repeatedly the stringent voice of prophets rings out chastising the Jews for oppressing the sojourner. In Isaiah, chapter 10, the Lord condemns those who write iniquitous decrees that oppress the poor, the widow, and the fatherless. In these passages God reminds us that His heart is inclined toward the weak, the widow, the orphan, and the sojourner. And such were we.  At some point, all our families got off the boat, strangers in a strange land.

This is a moment of opportunity for Christians in America.  Here is an issue that God speaks about in direct, unambiguous language. We should clamor for legislation that extends a hand to the sojourner among us. We can set aside our constant sharing of sarcastic memes and instead clamor for taking care of Jesus. For many, who find President Trump wanting, the tendency has been to focus on constant attacks on questionable character or decisions. While this may provide some transitory pleasure, in the end it is illusory, of no real substance. It takes no intellectual effort to click or tap “share.” For those Christians who supported President Trump the tendency has been to spend time denigrating and ridiculing those who did not. We ought to unite over this issue. We all desire a more “Christian” nation and now we have an opportunity to move, however incrementally, toward God. We can love these people in a tangible way. And, in doing so, we show love for our Lord. This group of people, largely voiceless, needs our advocacy. In a like way we found ourselves in desperate need with no one to intercede for us, then God moved to serve and save us. By serving this unrepresented group we show love and ultimately serve Jesus.