Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Christian mandate to welcome strangers

On ABC Lateline last night there was a piece about the latest political debate on the government (relaxed) policies on detention rules and temporary protection visas. (See the Lateline script here.)

In my own Christian circle I have the opportunities to talk to asylum seekers very often. The fact is that often they still have to wait for a very long time for a permanent residence visa to be granted (if it is granted). Often their temporary visas are renewed for a few months at a time (sometimes monthly), and as a result they have to constantly live in a state of uncertainty.

I talked with one of them recently. He is a kind Christian man who loves God. He loves the Bible and reads it regularly to seek comfort and hope. As I got to know him I found that he was separated from his wife and children as they fled their country. A permanent visa would enable him to travel to the region (not his own country, I suppose) to search for his family. We can hardly understand the hardship he endures as he waits anxiously for his permanent visas and at the same time separated from this loved ones. (A timely article from The Age entitled No Way Back Now would help us to understand the issue further.)

The Bible again and again refers to God's people's obligation to plead the cause of the fatherless, widows and resident foreigners (or "aliens" in the NIV). It is important to realise that in other ancient law codes there were rules to protect/help orphans and widows. But it was only in Israel's Scripture that foreigners (or "aliens") were to be protected because of their vulnerable situation. Israel was to remember that they were once aliens in Egypt and now they were to look after the foreigners in their midst. And of course Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan because he was asked "who is my neighbour?" Our neighbours are not only those who live in the same street or suburb, but include people from all nations and cultures - and hence when they suffer from persecution and hardship we are to help them. May the church hear the heart of God and respond accordingly.

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