Luke 10 records The Parable of the Good Samaritan. It is a fascinating discussion between Jesus and the lawyer about how to gain eternal life. They both initially come to the same conclusion, that eternal life is found in the Torah when you perfectly love God and love your neighbor. Jesus understands that the lawyer cannot do this, but the lawyer is unwilling to lose the discussion. So he challenges Jesus again.
“And who is my neighbor?” – Luke 10:29
That question is such a telling question. By wanting to know who his neighbor is, he is also wanting to know who is not his neighbor. The lawyer needs someone that he does not have to love. He needs someone to hate. There has to be people on the inside and the outside. It cannot be as simple as loving everyone for the lawyer. No, he does not love everyone. He hates some. And for the lawyer, God’s law in the Torah must identify who he can hate.
I have been discussing with a community member the recent policy changes that have affected many people around us. They work in the mental health field in our community, serving people who are in need of care but are uninsured or underinsure.
Recently, their therapy appointments with clients have had to move online or have been cancelled. Evidently, some of their clients do not feel safe going out, which has impacted their ability to seek out or even continue healthcare. They have worked with some youth and parent clients about safety plans in case some one is detained by ICE. Their department has had to have discussions about what to do if ICE enters their building. This work is not easy to begin with, but it has become more difficult and stressful in the last few weeks.
Over the last few weeks, I have watched numerous pastors, congregations, and church bodies try to figure out how they want to handle the possibility of ICE entering their buildings or detaining their people. I have seen non-profits and social service agencies try to figure out best steps for caring the the vulnerable in their community.
The lawyer wants Jesus to tell him who he can hate. He fails to understand that God hates no one. God is love. We see this in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who set aside every right and privilege He had as the Son of God and willingly died for you and for me. As followers and believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to love like He did. We are called to love God and love our neighbor. We are called to take up our cross and follow Him.
As Christians living in this country, our default position to all things should be love, not hate. Not us versus them. Not separation. Not inside and outside. Not legal or illegal according to the laws of our country.
We see the love of Christ in action through people like the person I mentioned above and others, community groups, and local service agencies. So how can you practically live out the love of Christ in your communities given the heightened stress and attention to immigration and refugees today?
- Pray: for our leaders in our government and religious communities, for our communities, for those working to serve immigrants and refugees, for those who are living in fear and terror, for those who are separated from loved ones.
- Love: If you took the 4 Gospels and cut out each part where Jesus commands or acts upon the care of the poor, needy, or marginalized, you would have a very empty Gospel. A few places that you can care for those in need include:
- Lutheran Social Services Since 1917, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA), a human services and immigration relief and refugee welcome agency, has accompanied those in need throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to foster resiliency, self-sufficiency, and access to opportunities. We provide services that last beyond the initial arrival for families, youth, children, and individuals rebuilding their lives in the D.C. metro area.
- Lutheran Services Florida: Through our work, we help communities build healthier, happier, and hope-filled futures. LSF (Lutheran Services Florida) is a statewide nonprofit dedicated to helping the most vulnerable Floridians. We do this by reducing the suicide and drug addiction rate, giving families in crisis the support they need to persevere, and making sure those in poverty get the education they need to close the achievement gap. We have three lines of service, Head Start, Family Focus and Health Systems.
- Global Refuge: For more than 85 years, Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) has provided the resources, guidance, and community to help forge a way forward for New Americans. We’re committed to helping people reimagine the possibilities while providing a soft place to land.
With more than 1,000 partners and 50,000 volunteers, we are the largest faith-based national nonprofit exclusively dedicated to helping restore a sense of home to immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Since 1939, we’ve built a legacy of compassion by walking alongside more than 800,000 new neighbors as they rebuild their lives in the United States.
- Hope: When your heart, soul, body, or mind feels anxious about the current situation in our country, turn back to the promises of your baptism and remember that God is in control of all things and God is returning again soon. This is not the end. All things will be made new again and tears of sorrow will turn to tears of joy.
“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
“The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.
Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.” – Luke 10:36-37
May God, who has poured out His love and mercy upon us, continue to be with us as we love and serve all people around us. May we see the ways that Jesus loved others. And may the Holy Spirit be with us as we go and do the same.
+ Pastor Garet Ellis
The World’s Okayest Pastor
Photo by Bill Nino on Unsplash
P.S.
One question that I have been asked whenever I have commented on a policy or action from our current political administration is, “Why didn’t you care about this during the last administration? You just don’t like this guy.” That could not be further from the truth. Now, do not get it twisted, I dislike this guy, but I dislike most politicians. The reason that I tend to speak up more during this current administrations term, and during his previous term, is because of the way that so many christians have attached themselves to him. But that is a whole other post for another day. For now, I want to keep tackling the question/discussion around immigrants and refugees in our country.
World's Okayest Pastor 
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