Most of us can trace our personal ancestry back to immigrants, whether in recent generations or before the United States became a country. The Bible is also full of immigrants. From Eve and Adam journeying away from the Garden of Eden, to Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar traveling to and from Egypt and throughout Mesopotamia on a promise from God, to Jesus – a descendant of a wandering Aramean and a wanderer himself.
As followers of Christ, we are called to journey together and are freed in Christ. In our journey together, we come to know each other and strangers become neighbors. We see each other as beloved children of God.
Christ empowers us to free everyone from the oppression they face. “For,” as Nelson Mandela states, “to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Our freedom in Christ is for nothing if not for the freedom of every child of God. Christ frees and empowers us to recognize all people – native, migrant, resident, and citizen – as beloved children of God and to work for their dignity.
This message is excerpted from the faith reflection “Immigration and home” by Emily Ewing in the October 2013 Café online magazine. Today is Independence Day in the United States.
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