... and Who is my Neighbor? - A Thought on Immigration

It seems to me that Jesus always encourages us to look beyond the routines and boundaries of our lives.  I am often challenged by what I see.

My wife and I went to the mall a few days ago.  Perhaps I should start by saying, I really don't enjoy going to the mall.  So, to say that my wife and I went to the mall is a significant event.  Even more, we went to the mall on a Sunday.  That is an especially odd event.  Ordinarily Sunday afternoons are an attempt to follow up on some pastoral care and take some needed Sabbath respite from a long day of preaching and worship leadership.

By going to the mall on Sunday, I saw a different clientele than I see on the other occasions I am at the mall - normally my one day off, Thursdays.  What I saw were whole families enjoying the circus of activities, sights, sounds, and smells that fill the mall.

It was also clear that I was seeing people who may work six days a week and only have Sunday for their whole family together.  It was also possible that many of the people I saw were first generation residents of our nation - some may even have arrived in our land without proper documentation.

When you see children holding the hands of their parents, you see people in a different light.

Our nation is embarking afresh on a debate about immigration.  The blogosphere and airwaves are being flooded by statistics and speeches on the dynamics of immigration.  In all of this debate, I find myself considering the challenge Jesus presents.

Jesus is confronted by a clever lawyer who is seeking to justify himself in a story told by one of the gospels, Luke 10:25-27.  Jesus helps the man articulate the fact that our destiny is framed by love: the love of God and the love of neighbor.  In response, the lawyer asks a lawyerly question - "and who is my neighbor?"

In typical fashion, Jesus responds with a story.  The key to the story is found in the eyes of compassion that motivate an outsider to risk caring for a man that others neglected.

Jesus does not say at the end of the story, "the outsider is your neighbor."  Instead, Jesus asks, "who was a neighbor?"  Jesus takes the outsider - the neighbor - and makes us the outsider - a neighbor who acts with mercy.

This morning I heard a fragment of a news story while driving to work.  The subject matter was immigration. Frankly, I was tired of hearing the politicians debate and I turned off the radio before the story got very far.  But one phrase stuck with me, the policy wonk said, "we believe we should send a message," by preventing a path to citizenship.

I think I understood what he meant:  We don't want to make crime pay.  It is a crime to enter our nation without documentation.  We should not reward people who break the law.  Such people should be prosecuted and sent back across our borders.

But after my eyes saw parent and child at the mall on Sunday, I found myself pondering.  Why do people want to come to America?  How hard is it to come to our nation?  As a descendant of Norwegian immigrants, I wondered why we would want to restrict immigration.

Then I wondered, what would cause a person to risk prosecution, hardship, and the loneliness of leaving everything familiar in their family of origin for the opportunity to work 6 or 7 days a week in America?

What kind of message would realistically prevent such a person from taking the risks they currently endure in order to come to our land?

This question caused me to turn the question - not unlike the way that Jesus turned the question about neighbors.

Here is what I wondered next.  How am I called to be a neighbor for people in lands far away from mine?  How can my nation send a message of support that strengthens the health and well being of people who live in far distant lands?

The answer to both of those questions is not easy.  If it was easy, it would have been accomplished long ago.

However I believe the better answer to immigration lies not in messages of prosecution that make our nation seem smaller than we truly are.  I believe that we are required to recognize our global village is closer than ever before.  Every act we undertake to make the world more safe, healthy, transparent, and hospitable is a blessing that fulfills our destiny.

This morning I said a prayer for the families I saw at the mall.  I said a prayer for our leaders who are faced with challenging choices.  Then I said a prayer for myself, asking that God might make me a better neighbor.

... and who is my neighbor? ... Well, ... better for me to be a neighbor.