In his unique scriptural translation, The Message, Eugene Peterson renders Leviticus 19:33-24 this way:
“When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don’t take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God.”
Throughout the Old Testament, the reader is constantly reminded that we were once slaves in Egypt. I often tell my congregation that though none of us were there when God made the covenant with Abraham, we are nonetheless heirs of that promise. I once heard Fred Craddock suggest that this conviction from our collective spiritual consciousness is what enables the adolescent boy to read those words publicly with confidence, even though, said Craddock, that “the kid has never even been out of the county where he was born.”
The connections between God’s people are timeless, and we understand that the blessings of old are still operative for us today. The ancient mandate of hospitality to the stranger in our midst may seem quaint, but let us not forget that the biblical Israel was called to maintain its ethnic purity. Even so, they were instructed to exercise generosity and forbearance to those who were not Hebrews. What a novel idea.
There have been strange words from some so-called conservative politicos of late, urging Americans to consider tinkering with the Fourteenth Amendment (the equal protection clause) so as to prohibit infants born on U.S. soil to undocumented parents from achieving citizenship simply by virtue of their birth. The meanness of it all is worthy of Karl Rove, who has been known to craft other such nasty initiatives designed to frighten voters. Remember the dozen or so referenda that made the ballot in as many states in 2004, and the “Swift-Boating” of John Kerry? Yep, that was all the evil genius of Mr. Rove.
If the Fourteenth Amendment were to be so amended, says one constitutional scholar, it would be the first time in history that our resilient Constitution would be amended to be less–not more–egalitarian. I am frankly alarmed at the suggestion that what’s wrong with America is the fault of “all those foreigners we let in.”
I am offended by Sen. Lindsey Graham’s assertion that undocumented women engage in “drop and leave” or that others rely on their “anchor babies,” whose presence might dissuade immigration officials who are otherwise disposed to deportation. The language employed makes me think of prolific animals instead of human beings. It certainly is not reminiscent of the biblical injunction to hospitality.
What boggles my mind is the way so many have latched on to this notion that immigrants pose a threat to our collective well-being. Wasn’t the mania of the European Holocaust similar in tone and conviction? Haven’t the many pogroms of the past been products of the same misguided fears? We do not learn much from a xenophobic history.
People of faith and goodwill must call upon the purveyors of fear and hatred to stop and stop now. The initiative ought to be toward immigration reform, and not toward a culture of defensiveness. For the past 234 years, the arc of American history has bent towards justice. We should leave the Fourteenth Amendment alone and look for more faithful ways to address our immigration issues. We should remember that we were once foreigners, too.
Raising Basileia 