”Being a Good Neighbor to All"

One of the biggest challenges to the status quo in the United States during the last quarter century has been the country's changing demographic makeup. This challenged has recently grown by the threat of terrorism to the U.S., which has opened a Pandora’s box of racism and xenophobia. At the same time because of warfare and ill treatment in Syria and other countries, right now there is a greater need than ever for refugee resettlement. As ethically and justice-minded people it is important that we be a good neighbor to all people now. This means that we remain open and non-judgmental toward all people regardless of race, color, gender, or creed.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the church of which I am a pastor, captures some of the enormity of the challenge to be a good neighbor to all in its pre-9/11 message on immigration in 1998. “We recognize the obstacles and difficulties our church and society face in welcoming newcomers. Too often we are slow in, tire of, or even resist fostering a hospitable environment for newcomers. Too often we perpetuate the racism, the fear of, and the animosity toward newcomers that show themselves in our society. Our country’s history exhibits an ugly strain of exclusionary attitudes and policies toward newcomers who differ from the majority. In times of economic downturns especially—as happened in the early 1990s—this strain becomes more pervasive and leads to laws that unduly restrict immigration and threaten the well-being of newcomers. The presence of newcomers in our church and society heightens our awareness of these realities and of the experience of new immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the United States. This awareness makes us more appreciative of the gifts our new neighbors bring and of the barriers as well as the opportunities they encounter. It deepens our belief that 'all people are God’s creatures, sinners for whom Christ died' and our responsibility to respect the human dignity of all. This is a fitting time for us to examine anew our attitudes toward newcomers, to strengthen our church’s ministry among, with, and for the most vulnerable of newcomers, and to continue to advocate for immigration, refugee, and asylum laws that are fair and generous.” The words of this message remind us that xenophobia and racism are not new to the times in which we live right now. As referenced there have been times when Hispanics or Latinos have been accused of taking jobs away from “earlier immigrated” peoples. Although some Central American and Mexican immigrants came here to find a sanctuary from political and religious oppression, there have been times when undocumented immigrants came here to work in jobs that most Euro-immigrant descendants would not have taken. Even so they are our neighbors. So Jesus' words in the second part of his summation of the law apply: “You are to love your neighbor as yourself.”

What is new in the last few years since some terrorist incidents on American soil is the strength of the pushback against foreigners of questionable profile. Specifically, Islamic and Middle Eastern people have been targeted, with the expressed purpose of vetting them to a much higher degree and, in some cases, banning their entrance into the United States because they fit a certain racial or religious profile. Although the goal to keep our country safe is a valid one, this certainly is an immoral and unethical practice.

Recently there have been two attempts to ban immigrants from several countries in the Mideast. So far both of them have been blocked by judges who have deemed them both to be unconstitutional. Upon the advent of the first one, religious leaders from over ten mainline denominations gathered in Chicago and subsequently came out with a statement entitled Ecumenical Declaration: Protecting Welcome, Restoring Hope. It read in part: “We representatives of Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican communions in the United States, Church World Service and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States… officially declare our strong opposition to the executive order entitled ‘Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals.’ On behalf of our joint membership of 37 national member communions constituting more than 30 million Americans, we stand united in our resolve to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God in fellowship with the vulnerable, the outcast, the widow, the orphan, the immigrant, and all persons in need. As Americans, we are a nation of displaced persons. This executive order… temporarily suspends the entire U.S. resettlement program… and preferences religious minorities…We are unequivocally opposed to any policy that restricts access to life-saving protection due to a person’s religion. This executive order, as well as the two other immigration-related executive orders to build a wall and deport our undocumented community members, counters the values we as people of faith hold dear: to welcome the stranger and assist those most in need. These executive orders have been celebrated by those who use fear to perpetuate racism and xenophobia, which seriously erode shared values, constructive dialogue, and American leadership in the world. As Christians, we have a moral responsibility to speak out and advocate alongside all immigrants and refugees to stop these unjust and immoral executive orders…We hereby pledge to do everything in our power to restore and maintain hospitality and welcome to all people — regardless of where they are from, how they pray, or what language they speak…Through this Ecumenical Declaration, we pledge to Protect Welcome and Restore Hope by engaging our congregations and networks in safeguarding the refugee resettlement program and bringing a bold, prophetic voice to stand in solidarity with immigrants and refugees. We affirm our resolve to not rest until the United States fully lives up to its promise as the land of the free, until all refugees are welcome regardless of their nationality or religion, and until policies designed to sow fear and mistrust among our communities are rescinded…. Together, let us protect welcome and restore hope - for we are all truly Greater as 1.”

As individuals seeking to love our neighbor as ourselves, as well as people of the church, we cannot and will not follow the course of action of attempting to silo ourselves from the world. Furthermore, following this course of action, even in opposition to many of our closest allies and around the world, will not only be wrong but will lead more than likely to the return of the title “ugly American” to describe us. After all the investment in others since World War II, this turn backwards could have dire consequences for us and for the world. As the bishops and other church leaders encourage us: Let us stand up and be “Greater as 1!”