A Biblical Command

Father Richard Rohr invites us to consider how well we love others, especially the stranger, as Jesus teaches:  

If our love of God doesn’t directly influence, and even change, how we engage in the issues of our time, I wonder what good religion is. “God talk” becomes an opaque screen in which we see only reflections of ourselves, rather than any kind of true light. “Anyone who says they love God, and hates their brother or sister, is a liar” (1 John 4:20). None of us wants to be a liar, yet religion’s high goals make failure almost inevitable for all of us (read Paul’s attempts to describe this paradoxical phenomenon in Romans 7:7–25). Our daily question is this: “Have I even begun to love?” 

Most Christians tend to echo the cultural prejudices and worldviews of the dominant group in their country, with only a minority revealing any real transformation of attitudes or consciousness. It has been true of slavery and racism, classism and consumerism, and issues of immigration and health care for the poor. From a religion based on a man who was always healing poor people and praising foreigners, it defies any logical analysis! 

One would think that people who insist they believe in one God would understand that everyone on Earth is equally a child of that one God. Christians ought to be first in line to cross artificial boundaries created by nation states, class systems, cultures, and even religions. Often, we’re the last! It makes one wonder if we believe what we say we believe. Religion too often becomes the way to defend the self instead of the way to “let go of the self” as Jesus forthrightly taught (see Luke 9:23). [1] 

Pope Francis reminds Christians of their duty to welcome the stranger:  

Let us concentrate on these words of Jesus: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me” (Matthew 25:35–36). In our time, charitable action regarding foreigners is more relevant than ever. The economic crisis, armed conflicts, and climate change have forced many people to emigrate. However, migration is not a new phenomenon; it is part of the history of humanity. It is a lack of historical memory to think that this phenomenon has arisen only in recent years…. 

At times it seems that the silent work of so many men and women who, in various ways, do all they can to help and assist the refugees and migrants is obscured by the clamor of others who give voice to an instinctive selfishness. However, closure is not a solution, but instead ends up fostering criminal trafficking. The only path to a solution is through solidarity. Solidarity with the migrant, solidarity with the foreigner….  

We all … are called to welcome our brothers and sisters who are fleeing from war, from hunger, from violence and from inhuman living conditions. All together we are a great supportive force for those who have lost their homelands, families, work, and dignity. [2] 

[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, “We Have Not Yet Begun to Love: Religion and Immigration,” Radical Grace 24, no. 4 (2011): 3. 

[2] Pope Francis, “A Stranger and You Welcomed Me,” in A Stranger and You Welcomed Me: A Call to Mercy and Solidarity with Migrants and Refugees, ed. Robert Ellsberg (Orbis, 2018), 53, 54, 55.  

Image credit and inspiration: Lucas Dalamarta, Untitled (detail), 2024, photo, Unsplash. Click here to enlarge image. When engaging with an unknown being we practice holding space for the other and leading with an open heart, even when we don’t know the outcome. 

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