“You Were Once Strangers” – A Call to Welcome and Witness

In a world marked by shifting borders, political rhetoric, and growing fear of the other, the call of the Christian community remains clear and unwavering: we are a people formed by welcome. From the opening pages of Scripture to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s story is one of hospitality, movement, and belonging. This sacred narrative not only names our spiritual identity—it shapes our public witness.

A Story of Welcome from the Beginning
The Bible tells the story of a God who journeys with the vulnerable. From the call of Abraham and Sarah to leave their homeland (Genesis 12), to the deliverance of the Israelites from oppression in Egypt (Exodus 3), God's people are shaped by migration, by sojourning, by trust in the unknown. In fact, God commands the Israelites repeatedly to remember their own story of displacement:

“You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” – Deuteronomy 10:19

This is not merely a moral suggestion; it is a theological imperative. God’s people are to extend welcome because they know what it means to be outsiders. They have lived it. And now, they are to build communities of justice and hospitality where others may flourish.

The Hebrew word ger—translated as “stranger,” “sojourner,” “alien” or “foreigner”—appears throughout the Old Testament, particularly in the Law and the Prophets. It refers to those who live in a land not their own, often without rights or protections. Again and again, God commands care for the ger:

“When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress them. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the stranger as yourself.” – Leviticus 19:33–34

This kind of radical welcome is not contingent on national origin, religious affiliation, or economic contribution. It is grounded in God’s character—compassionate, merciful, and just.

Christ, the Refugee
The call to welcome reaches its fullness in Jesus Christ. He, too, began life as a refugee—fleeing state-sanctioned violence when his family escaped to Egypt to avoid Herod’s wrath (Matthew 2:13–15). Throughout his ministry, Jesus broke boundaries of exclusion. He dined with tax collectors, touched the unclean, healed foreigners, and lifted up Samaritans as models of neighborly love. In Christ, God’s hospitality is embodied: not limited to temple walls or national boundaries, but poured out for the sake of the whole world.

Paul’s letters to the early church echo this. Writing to diverse and divided communities, he urges them to “bear with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2), to “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you” (Romans 15:7), and to recognize that “there is no longer Jew or Greek... for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The gospel breaks down the walls that divide us. We are no longer strangers and aliens to one another—we are kin.

The Current Reality

And yet, this vision of gospel hospitality stands in sharp contrast to much of our national conversation. In the United States, refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers face increasingly harsh policies, backlogged legal systems, and in far too often, outright hostility. The number of people forcibly displaced worldwide has reached record levels. Families who have fled war, persecution, and climate crisis arrive seeking safety—only to be met with suspicion, detention, or closed doors.

In Christ,

Pastor Minna Bothwell