How to treat 'the stranger' among us

Last week five year old Omran Daqneesh put a face on the Syrian war.

He reminded us that it doesn't matter what the politics of the situation is. What became readily apparent is the human suffering that comes from war.

Omran's face put the cost in terms that every reader could instantly understand.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the end of 2015 there were 65.3 million refugees on earth. Half of them were children.

The cause of defending the stranger and foreigner is deeply rooted in most faith traditions, including Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian. There are plenty of Biblical references for how to treat 'the stranger' among us. Most all of them are calls to treat them with love and kindness.

In Leviticus 25.35 the Israelites are encouraged to treat each other "...as you would a foreigner and stranger..."

When Job is defending himself from the verbal attack of his friends, who accuse him of being unrighteous, he says, "I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger." (Job 29.16)

Not surprisingly Jesus himself had something to say on the subject. He gave this exhortation in the gospel of Matthew, in a section that's subtitled The Final Judgment, in which Jesus is giving his impression of who will and will not make it into heaven.

"'Then the King (God) will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home..."

When those in the crowd ask Jesus, "Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty or a stranger?"
He replied: "Whatever you did for the least of these, you did to me." (Matt. 25.40)

This is one of the few passages in the Bible that gives us a direct glimpse of the bottom line of what being a person of faith is all about.

What if we began to include refugees, our neighbors, those living in poverty, as the 'stranger' among us?

If you need more convincing of our faith-based heritage to reach out to strangers, Paul offers at least two compelling arguments to care.

"You were, at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. " (Ep. 2.12) Paul isn't just speaking to Christians here, He is suggesting that we were all once spiritual refugees without hope.

There is an interesting chapter in Hebrews where Paul lists quite a number of heroes of the faith, including Abraham, Noah, Sarah and Issac.

Paul says that each of these individuals had something in common. "They were strangers and foreigners on the earth." (Heb. 11.13).

And if we still need a gentle prodding of our spirit to get involved, Eugene Peterson offers this beautiful rendition of of why we should care about the refugees (strangers) among us. "Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make your faith visible." (3 John 1.5)

Peterson would be the first to say that the apostle John's words were meant to be an encouragement to people of all faiths.

If you are looking for a way to help refugees, the strangers among us, there are many reputable organizations that are doing great work. Including:

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Pre-emptive Love Coalition

World Vision

Doctors Without Borders


Ann Voskamp who wrote A Thousand Thanks, has been an outstanding advocate of supporting the refugees among us.

You are also invited to learn about local efforts aimed at welcoming immigrants through the welcoming initiative.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it's a start.

And what about Omran Daqneesh? He was treated successfully and returned to his family. Unfortunately, his ten year old brother Ali, died because of the same airstrike.

Photo Credit: www.npr.org