We have always thought of ourselves as a nation of courage
and hope. Few statements reflect our
identity better than the quote affixed to the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your
tired, your poor, your huddled masses.” There
is something sacred about Ellis Island, the entry point for so many who came in
response to the beacon of life and liberty.
Most of us are descendants of those who came.
I served the churches of Minnesota and Wisconsin for eight
years, 1993-2001. I watched the people
of Minnesota open their arms and their homes to refugees from around the world.
I came to love them for their courage, courtesy, kindness and tenacity.
Facing severe persecution in the civil wars that swept
across Liberia, thousands fled to the United States. A few years ago I attended
the building dedication for Ebenezer Liberian Church in Brooklyn Park, Minn. More than a thousand people showed up. They filled the auditorium and spilled over
into corridors and classrooms. I was
inspired by their hymns, songs and testimonies to God’s goodness and grace.
In Minnesota I met Hmong Christian leaders. The Hmong were Animists from the hill country
of Laos and close allies to the U.S. during the Vietnam War. They fled brutal persecution and sought
refuge in America. More than ¼ million
now live in the U.S. Many have embraced Christ. There are now more than 140
Hmong Christian churches in the United States, most in Minnesota, Wisconsin and
California. Their children are attending
college and moving into professional ranks.
Five decades ago I visited Vietnamese refugee camps in
central Texas. Most were “boat people”
who fled persecution and poverty after the fall of South Vietnam. We picked
them up with buses and brought them to our church, even though most spoke
little English. A few members in our church resented their presence, but most
reached out with the compassion of Christ. Today more than 1.5 million
Vietnamese call America home. The largest Christian Vietnamese church has over
4,000 members and the number of Vietnamese Christians is growing.
When Jesus introduced himself to the synagogue in his
hometown at Nazareth, he infuriated the crowd by stating that God loved the
Syrians. He reminded them that Elisha healed a Syrian leper when there were
many lepers in Israel. They were so enraged they tried to throw Jesus off a
high cliff. (Luke 4:16-30).
We are always afraid and suspicious of people who are
different than we are. But “perfect love casts out fear.” Isaiah says, “Hide the fugitives, do not
betray the refugees. Let the fugitives
stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer. The oppressor will come to
an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the
land.” (Isaiah 16:3-4).
