In the years leading up to World War II and the Holocaust, large numbers of German Christians condemned people who differed from them politically, theologically, nationally or ethnically. In the midst of that dangerous context, one offbeat newspaper dared to print a fictional worship service of the future.
It imagined a minister standing before his congregation and saying, “Anyone who is not 100% Aryan should leave the church at once.” Not a soul stirred. He said it again, but nobody moved. When he repeated it a third time, Jesus climbed down from the altar crucifix and walked out the door.
Demonizing outsiders is unacceptable for followers of Jesus. This is especially true for immigrants. In short, you can’t love Jesus and hate immigrants. Scripture is clear about this.
Martin Thielen
For example, Leviticus 19:33-34 says: “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt.”
Jesus, himself an immigrant — see Matthew 2:13-15 — says in Matthew 25: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance. … For I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” Later in this text, Jesus says, “Depart from me, you who are cursed. … for I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me.”
“Immigrants are to be treated with compassion, dignity, fairness and respect.”
This doesn’t mean we must have open borders without any immigration limits. That’s not reasonable or responsible. However, it does mean immigrants are to be treated with compassion, dignity, fairness and respect. Tragically, that’s not the case in America right now.
Instead, immigrants are demonized. For example, on numerous occasions, the president of the United States has said immigrants are “vermin” who are “poisoning the blood of our country.” That same language, used by Adolf Hitler to demonize European Jews in the 1930s, ultimately led to the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.
Immigrants also are accused of being murderers, rapists and drug dealers — in spite of the fact they commit far less crime per capita than American-born citizens. Immigrants who do commit serious crimes should be arrested and deported. But the vast majority of immigrants are law-abiding, hard-working people who make important contributions to the American economy and culture.
In short, the hateful rhetoric and overwhelmingly cruel policies currently being directed toward immigrants are anti-Christian to the core and must be challenged by serious followers of Jesus, regardless of their political affiliation. Immigrants are real people, created in the image of God, and must be treated accordingly.
Years ago, I saw a play about a group of strangers thrust together in a strange place. All around them lay construction materials, including lumber and various tools. At night, the people heard strange sounds that frightened them. So they decided to use the construction materials to build a wall to protect themselves from outsiders.
About that time, a young man, around 30 years old, joined the group. When he discovered their plan to build a wall, he encouraged them to build a bridge instead. As the play continued, tensions mounted over whether they should build a wall or a bridge.
At the end of the play, as the young man passionately argued for building a bridge and not a wall, the group attacked the man and killed him. Several of the men picked up his dead body and held it up in the air, forming the clear shape of a cross. A woman in the crowd looked at the lifeless young man and cried out, “Oh, my God, what have we done?”
As I look at immigration attitudes and policies in America today and consider how much they violate the example and teaching of Jesus, I wonder: Oh, my God, what have we done, indeed?
Martin Thielen, a retired minister (Southern Baptist and United Methodist), ex-megachurch pastor and best-selling author, is the creator and author of www.DoubtersParish.com. He adds this note to this column: If you would like to communicate with me, feel free to send an email and I’ll respond as soon as possible. To receive my monthly newsletter (a brief email notification alerting you to new posts and other materials), please do so today.
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