The other day, I was scrolling through Facebook and stumbled across this reflection from a young man I met while hoboing, reprinted here with permission. I think Stephen’s thoughts are important in terms of both our response to refugees and our understanding of our relationship to this world. He’s not talking about the politics of how to vet refugees or help them to integrate into society, he’s talking about compassion. I’m convicted.
The statement about how America is a nation of refugees and immigrants and therefore it is fundamental that we should open our doors to the needy is important, as is the argument that Christians should extend charity to the needy regardless of whether they are our countryman or a foreigner because all people are our neighbors, but I want to point out a problem with both of these arguments for the Christian. Actually, a fundamental problem with these arguments from the perspective of any Abrahamic religion. Bear with me.
Both these arguments, “we are Americans/we are Christians: our country should be welcoming,” are fundamentally false because, for any follower of Abraham’s God, this is not our country.
A refugee is someone who has lost their native land and has been forced to wander, looking for a home. To be human is to be a refugee because this is not our true country. We are not citizens of this earth. Once we were, but those days have long been lost to us. Ever since we willingly gave the throne of this world to the Adversary we have been refugees in flight, desperately seeking a new country.
Now for Christians there is hope. We believe Jesus came into the world, laid siege to the bastion of Satan, and broke through. He has called us to a new home, our true Home, beyond this world. There we are seeking to be, not here.
So please, my brothers and sisters in Christ, remember this: when you consider helping a person in need you are not considering welcoming a refugee into your home. You cannot. You have no home. You are extending a hand to a fellow refugee as you both flee the same evil, and perhaps sharing with him the Way to safety. You and he are both in flight, and both hope against all hope that when you reach the walls of the True Country its Ruler will be merciful and open the gate.
Stephen Brown is a Christian, a husband, a father, and a med student, hopefully in that order.
Everyone talks like we have the option of welcoming a refugee into our home. But that’s not how it’s done in America. In America, to the best of my knowledge, refugees are given an apartment and material assistance by one of several non-profits and possibly state aid a well. I would love to host a refugee in my spare bedroom, but that’s not an option. I highly doubt that any refugees are going to be resettled in my town. So now it’s just one more of 1000000000 good causes to which I can give my limited charity money – one I’m unlikely to choose since I’ll never meet a refugee in person. Do you have any suggestions for actually personally helping refugees?
I think demonstrating a welcoming spirit online actually makes a huge difference here. When so many politicians are trying to slam doors in the faces of refugees, even tweeting about welcoming refugees and sharing articles on Facebook impacts the attitude of the culture and tells leaders that their xenophobia won’t get them votes. Going out of your way to be kind to Muslims also makes a big difference in a country where Muslims are being insulted and spat on and threatened in their own neighborhoods. This might be one area where slacktivism can actually be helpful.