Strangers and Scapegoats by Matthew S. Vos

Author:Matthew S. Vos
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christianity/Sociology;Strangers—Religious aspects—Christianity;Identity (Psychology)—Religious aspects—Christianity;REL012110;SOC026000;SOC039000
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2022-06-09T00:00:00+00:00

Postscript

This chapter leaves quite a few questions unanswered. The reader may leave with the impression that immigration is a simple matter requiring only simple solutions—just love the stranger and all will be well in God’s world. But it’s not simple. Understanding and addressing global migration by proposing and enacting humane solutions to the immeasurably complex issues framing the relationships between those with and those without land is well beyond the expertise of this writer. The myriad books offering a wide array of perspectives and approaches stand in testimony to the lack of consensus on this issue. Nonetheless, in the midst of all the complexity, in the absence of clear pathways that resolve the issues of immigration, perhaps there is some merit in beginning with the simple things.

As part of the Christian sociology conference discussed in chapter 1, we visited several Amish homes to listen, learn, and glean wisdom from a group of Christians who live by a very different socio-theological ethic than that of most Western Christians. While we visited in one older couple’s home, we noticed that several adults with intellectual disabilities had taken up residence there. They weren’t blood relatives of their hosts. When we asked about this, our hosts offered the following: “We take in who God sends us. When someone with need comes to us, we open our door.” There was no expiration date on their hospitality. There was no sense that our new Amish friends were trying to understand or solve the world’s problems. They simply had a tacit understanding that the people of God have no higher calling or more important task than to show hospitality and to offer mercy to the ones God sends. Breathtakingly simple. There were no words about whether their guests had a right to be there, no attempts to get them to move on, and certainly no unkind words or concern with their own rights. Just simple service, done in the name of God, for those in need. I have; you need; come on in. Maybe this ethic is a place to start.

When I was a child, my mother used to play Raffi records in our home. Raffi Cavoukian, of Armenian descent, was born in Egypt, and with his family immigrated to Ontario, Canada, in 1958. Raffi is well known for his children’s music and child advocacy. He employs a simple, guitar-based folk style. My childhood was saturated with his catchy melodies and positive, child-friendly music. One of his best-known songs—a hit in the world of six-year-olds—is titled “The Sharing Song.” The following two lines from the chorus capture its central message:

’Cause if I share it with you

You’ll have some too66

Absolute simplicity. The essence of biblical theology in a children’s song. What if this sentiment reflected how we approached the poor immigrant who with her children stands hopeful at “our” borders? What if approaching migrants could one day raise their weary eyes to the horizon at their journey’s end, look our way, and in exhaustion fall to their knees saying, “Oh good, it’s the Christians.

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