Time to be green and glean and gleam!

Jock Stein December 21, 2024 1 3

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Leviticus 19: 33-34 (NRSVA)

33 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. 34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Yesterday we read that the ‘alien’ was included alongside the ‘poor’. Today the focus is on the alien, to be accepted (and even loved) same as the ‘citizen’. While there is an obvious relevance to those seeking refuge in Britain, the reason given is significant – ‘for you were aliens in the land of Egypt’. For the Christian, this translates to a recognition that we all are poor and undeserving before God, with the expression ‘there but for the grace of God go I’.

While there are obvious political questions about the number of refugees that any community can be expected to accommodate, the principle is clear, and if the alien is to be treated as a citizen then he or she must not be prohibited from seeking work. (In any case, studies indicate that immigrants do not reduce the employment of locals – one of many myths surrounding refugees.) UK practice could gleam more brightly. What about our own practice?

Here is a poem I wrote about a rather famous migrant who was given French citizenship as a reward for his exploit rescuing a child – the epigraph takes Psalm 85: 11 literally. It is called ‘Birds of Passage’, seeing refugees like birds.

‘Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.’

They flock, they fly,
they float, they die.

Some pass the hunters,
some fall from the air;
some lose their compass,
some manage to get there.

I read about a migrant
passing through Libya to Paris,
who grew wings for a wild
ascent, four flights of faith
to pluck a child from a balcony,
replace him in his family nest.

I heard about another
passing through Greece and Italy,
grounded at Calais, every flight
to England full, or turned back, 
cancelled till he lost the lift,
the spring of hope that drove him
from an Asian to a European hell.

They flock, they fly,
they float, they die,
looking for a righteous wind
somewhere in the atmosphere,
hoping for a faithful current
and a friendly pier.

PRAY

Lord Jesus, Scripture tells us that you were once an alien in Egypt, a political refugee. You chose to live at risk, that we might find eternal security. May your Spirit direct the affairs of Britain and Europe in particular, to cope wisely and generously with those looking for a better life. May your Spirit direct us in our own contacts and our own giving.

Many of those coming to our shore are people of faith. May they be welcomed by the religious communities of our islands. Many are open to the gospel – may they hear, and believe. And many have spiritual wealth to share with us – may we be open to receive it.

You became poor that we might become rich. May we be willing to sacrifice to make others rich, for your sake. Amen.