Jesus said: “The Ruler will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you blessed of my Abba God! Inherit the realm prepared for you from the creation of the world! For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a foreigner and you welcomed me naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me in prison and you came to visit me.’” Matthew 25: 34-36
The above quote comes from a teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 25: 31-46. Many English translations title this passage, “The Judgement of the Nations,” because in it, Jesus clearly states that people who care for the poor, the foreigner, and the prisoner are deserving of heaven. He doesn’t stop there, though. In verse 41, he turns to those that have not taken care of the poor, the foreigner, or the prisoner and he says, “Out of my sight, you accursed ones! Into that everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and the fallen angels.”
I would encourage you to read the full passage in your own bible, but you will be surprised to see that where I have written “foreigner” above, most English translations of the bible say “stranger.” The Greek word is xenos (xenos). In a Greek/English dictionary xenos is translated, stranger, foreigner, alien, noncitizen. It is the root for our English word xenophobia – meaning afraid of foreigners. Translating it as “stranger” is perfectly fine, but given what is happening in the USA of today, I think it is imperative that we be clear about whom exactly Jesus expects us to be welcoming. Jesus is not saying that people who say hi to a stranger in the food store deserve heaven. He is saying that people who welcome foreigners into their communities deserve heaven.
It is tempting to discriminate between those that came here the “right” way, but our immigration system is not that black and white (see graphic following this article). And, certainly, the One Who Created us all loves all humanity to the cross and beyond. In Ephesians 2:19, Paul writes that all of us were once foreigners and are now “members of the household of God.”
We love, because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). God will love us and save us whether we deserve it or not, but I think most of us would like to do our best to follow in the way of Jesus – not to earn heaven, but out of gratitude for the love and grace of God.
When Jesus said these words, he was himself a xenos in the Roman empire. He was not entitled to any of the privileges provided to Roman citizens. This is what allowed him to be brutally crucified. In the realm of God, there are no sides. God doesn’t support any group over another. But, in this world, we can choose to be on the side of Christ.
