In the following studies we have used the Contemporary English Version of the Bible unless otherwise specified. Information about contributors and links to external sources can be found…
Migration within the Hebrew Scriptures
Ann-Kathrin Knittel
Migration was a common phenomenon in the first millennium BCE and is therefore reflected in its various aspects in the Hebrew Scriptures. One of the earliest and most well-known examples is the story of Abraham. His journey from Ur to Canaan was triggered solely by God’s command. Most of the other stories are examples of forced migration; many illustrate how people had to leave their homes for economic reasons, e.g. famines: Abraham and Sarai (Gen 12:20), Isaac and Rebecca (Gen 26), Jacob and his family (Gen 37–50), the widow from the story about Elisha (2 Kgs 8), Naomi and her family (Ru 1). Many others were forced to leave their home for political reasons. Many had to move compulsorily and resettle on the command of foreign rulers (2 Kgs 17), others had to flee from oppression (Ex 6–15). The Israelites consider their own identity as foreign to the land they live in. This helps us to understand better the struggle over identity and relations to foreigners. By saying what they are not, they say something about what is important for Israel.
Related to this subject is the declaration of individuals or groups as “other”. The Hebrew Scriptures differentiate between temporary visiting foreigners (hebr. nokri) and those who are permanent foreign residents within Israel (hebr. ger(im)). Who actually was a foreigner was not easy to define, since socially, politically, ethnically and geographically it was a highly fragmented territory. Social status was inherited and passed down within families and therefore strangers evoked a sense of potential destabilisation and threat. When people settled permanently within Israelite territory, they gained certain rights and duties and the status as “ger”. They were able to purchase houses, receive social support together with widows and orphans if they became poor (Lev 19:10; Dt 24:19–21) and were expected to observe the Sabbath rest. The Israelites were reminded to keep this regulation in remembrance of their own history: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. (Dt5:15)” Similar arguments appear several times within the legislative texts of the Hebrew Scriptures (Ex 22:20; 23:9; Lev 19,33f; Dt 10:19). Furthermore: the commandment of loving your neighbour is explicitly bound to the foreigner. Interestingly enough, nowhere are gerim discerned by their reasons or their motives for migrating.
To ponder
• When we define what we are not, we want to say something about what we are. Can you think of any examples of this within your country’s history, the church’s message or your own life?
• Looking on your own “history”: what have you learned that you would like to pass on? How does your experience shape how you treat others?
Genesis 4:1-15
Adam and Eve had two sons
David Bradwell
What do we know about Cain and Abel? Cain farmed the land; he stayed in one place, fixed and rooted. Abel farmed sheep and so would have been a nomadic wanderer, leading the flock to water and pasture. Could it be that in this story God is more pleased with the migrant than the person fixed to the land?
Following the murder of Abel by Cain, what is God’s punishment? It is exile, forcing Cain to become a wanderer himself. But with God’s mark Cain’s life is protected. And so this is not just punishment, but redemption – a chance for Cain to be like his brother. A chance for him to give up his territory and instead tread lightly on the earth.
To ponder
• In the balance between nationality and faith, which holds more importance to you?
• How can our lives better reflect God’s concern for humanity and the world?
Genesis 12:1-5
Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you
Laurent Vernet
God asked Abram to leave his homeland with his whole family. He obeyed, and took Sarai with him. He was seventy-five years old; Sarai may have been younger but she was too old to bear children. Leaving everything behind at their age when you may have expected to be well-established must have been difficult and heart-breaking.
We are not given reasons as to why Lot (his nephew) comes with them, though as Abram and Sarai did not have children, he was the legal heir and we know that Abram and Sarai took all their possessions with them. Had Lot come with them to keep an eye on his inheritance or as a loyal and helpful nephew? We don’t know but later in the Bible we may prefer one option over the other.
We don’t know why God asked Abram to leave Haran. Political, social or economic hardship? Abram and Sarai were wealthy and able to leave with the means to live. They were not destitute. At this stage, they had no idea where they would end up. They were facing the desert, the unknown, and an uncertain future. It is only later that they knew where they were going but even then it was not the end of their journey.
To ponder
• What would make you leave the place you thought you would live your whole life?
• If you had to leave your home, where would you go? Another country where you have family and friends? Or speak the language? Or share the same religion?
Genesis 17:1, 5, 9-16
I now change your name from Abram to Abraham
Laurent Vernet
Within the Abram/Abraham saga, it is not clear when Abram and Sarai finally arrived at their destination. In chapter 17 we can assume they have arrived. There, God asks Abram and Sarai to change their identity; changing their names and making a painful commitment (at least for Abram) to be more acceptable. The painful commitment is circumcision.
Moving to another country can involve many personal and social changes. Sometimes when people arrive in a new country with a different language they give up or adapt their name to the new context. It may be to hide the fact that they are not a “local” (it was the case during WW2, when migrants arrived in Britain or the US, that they anglicized their names). It may also be because people are not familiar with that specific name or can’t pronounce it. In all cases, whilst changing your name can be a relief as a new start it can also be a very painful experience not to hear your name again.
Often, like a circumcision, someone moving country must give up part or parts of their past identity. It may feel like losing a part of self. That change could be giving up a career, a social function, a dream or a passion (music, arts, sport…). Moving country often involves a change of identity and maybe social personality.
To ponder
• If you had to move place and change your name, how would you feel?
• If you were forced to move to a new country, what would you find the most difficult to give up? Your job? Hobby? Friends or social circle?
Ruth 1:1, 4:13-17
Before Israel was ruled by kings
David Bradwell
The first verse reminds us that it was a time ‘when judges rule’. That is, before the days of kings. This is very important. The first verse also points out that when there was a famine, Elimelech took his family to live in Moab. We could have a debate about whether they were economic migrants looking for a handout, or refugees forced to flee otherwise disaster would overtake them. Perhaps when you see refugees on the news you might think that the world today is not so different from ancient times, where many people have to live precariously.
Compare then this first verse with the last verses of the book. Here we read about Ruth’s descendants: son Obed, grandson Jesse and great-grandson David. Remember how the book started – in a time before kings. And here as it ends it is looking to the future, to David, to the greatest of all the ancient kings. And that at the heart of his ancestry is this woman Ruth, a Moabite. Someone with very little social standing. And yet without her story, the history of God’s people would have been very different.
To ponder
• When we meet migrants and refugees in our society, what do we imagine their contribution could be? Do we ever think about what impact their children or grand-children might have in years to come?
• Instead of thinking ‘what can we do for refugees’, how can churches reframe the question to be ‘what are the gifts and potential of the stranger in our midst’?
Psalm 23
You, Lord, are my shepherd
Anne Ross
At first glance, Psalm 23 might seem like an idyllic description of a romantic scene of a flute-playing shepherd with a woolly flock of sheep. But this image, often seen on devotional postcards, is far from what it is really like to be a shepherd. Fresh grass and water are sometimes hard to find and there are wild animals, hostile bandits and predators that must be parried in order for the flock to recover. The shepherd has to secure the basic needs of survival. In the old orient the shepherd was an image for the ruler who took care of the people. So in the Psalm it is an image for God, the good ruler, who does not leave people alone but walks with them and offers them places to find rest on their way. The prayer confesses: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters.” This sounds a bit like home. But not a home where you have always been; rather, the one you came to, are coming to and will come to. A home is not something you make, but something you find. It is a gift. A gift from God.
In the second part of the Psalm (verses 4-6) the image changes into God, the generous host. As the shepherd cares for and secures life, the host does the same but in an increased form. The cup overflows. While the shepherd can only offer temporary rest, there will be a final home in the house of the Lord. A home is a fragile gift that can easily get lost. Being a Christian means to stretch out our hands for this gift. Knowing that there will be a final home in the house of the Lord can encourage us to engage here on earth, in green pastures and in dark valleys.
To ponder
• Pope Francis has said that “Shepherds smell like sheep” – how can Christians and church leaders who don’t have personal experience of migration come alongside those that do?
• “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” – What do you feel, when you hear this? How difficult is it when we at times are afraid, for our life or our families? Or that sometimes God’s presence is not always felt?
• Where do you feel at home? What does the final home that you long for look like?
Psalm 72:12-14
Don’t let them do to me what they want
Carol M Bechtel
Putting flowers on a loved one’s grave is one way to say, “I love you. I miss you. I remember you.”
Francesco Piobbichi’s drawing gives us a brief glimpse into a young boy’s grief. The boy stands at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, which has become a mass grave for over 35,000 refugees in the last decade. The statistic is staggering, yet this glimpse into one young boy’s grief has the power to move us in ways that statistics do not. It makes us wonder who he lost—who he misses—who he remembers. And it may even make us wonder, “What can I do to help?”
Francesco Piobbichi is a relief worker with Mediterranean Hope—an organisation that seeks to save and welcome refugees trying to make their way across the Mediterranean. One of the ways Piobbichi has answered the question, “What can I do to help?” is by reminding us that each statistic has a story. He describes it this way: “My drawings tell a story that otherwise would be consigned to the oblivion of the sea”.
Psalm 72 is a prayer. In fact, it may be a prayer written by King David for his son and successor, Solomon. Yet, the author of the prayer is not as remarkable as its values. Verses 12-14 cut straight to the heart of what makes a good ruler. They may not be what we expect.
For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
And precious is their blood in his sight.
Mahatma Ghandi once observed that, “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” Psalm 72 seems to have a similar score card for political leaders.
In the caption for his drawing of the young boy with the flowers, Francesco Piobbichi suggests that we place a flower “for all the victims of this barbed sea made murderous by the selfishness of [human beings], from the hunger [for] profit that upsets the world…a flower for every innocent victim of this war of the rich against the poor”.
To ponder
• How would you grade your leaders against the rubric of Psalm 72? Why?
• Why is it so hard to respond to a statistic like the one cited in the story above? Was the 35,000 number a surprise to you?
• How do you respond to Piobbichi’s words about selfishness, profit, and “this war of the rich against the poor”?
Psalm 137: 1-4
Beside the rivers of Babylon
Anne Ross
Beside the rivers of Babylon we thought about Jerusalem, and we sat down and cried.
Crying because so many loved ones died. Crying because houses and possessions are destroyed.
Crying because the future does not look the way it was hoped to look . Crying out of exhaustion. Crying out of homesickness.
We hung our small harps on the willow trees. Our enemies had brought us here as their prisoners, and now they wanted us to sing and entertain them.
The harps are there but they remain silent. There is no song inside. All songs have faded. There is a thick lump in the throat. Singing is not possible. Only crying.
They insulted us and shouted, “Sing about Zion!” Here in a foreign land, how can we sing about the Lord?
How to sing of God in a foreign land? How to sing of God when the former sanctuary is destroyed? How to praise God when circumstances are miserable? Can you sing a song of praise when your captors only want to be entertained?
Asking these questions a new song arises. It is a sad song, but it is a song. The harps are still there. Awaiting brighter days.
To ponder
• When you remember your past, what makes you cry?
• Music is a universal language. But it is also something very emotional and personal. Have you sung songs in a foreign land? What was difficult about it? What did you enjoy?
Matthew 2: 13-23
Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt!
Wendy Lloyd
The account of Joseph, Mary and Jesus fleeing to Egypt at night, detailed in Matthew 2: 13-15, is followed by an account of the tragic slaughter of the innocent, demonstrating how necessary their fearful journey to safety was. The response of Rachel weeping for her children gives voice to the need for lament for all those whose lives have been tragically lost, often without notice. The flight to Egypt is the story of a father and mother who live in fear of what might happen to their young family. A parent who will do all they can to get their child to a place of safety. It is interesting to note how fear not only prompts the initial flight to Egypt but also prevents them returning to where they were sent. Despite the initial directions to return to Israel, given by the angel in a dream to Joseph, his fear holds him back from going there.
It is by another dream that Joseph is guided to Nazareth in Galilee, and so fulfils the prophecy of God. It is also the compassion of God that does not force Joseph to go beyond his fear. Fear inflicted by the trauma of forced migration and violence. We are invited into the fear of forced migration, fear for a young fledgling family vulnerable to the violence of the world. A story echoed throughout the ages and experienced by too many people throughout the world today. May the God of mercy fill us all with the compassion to respond with grace and understanding. Amen.
To ponder
• Which words or phrases jump off the page of the passage?
• Select two or three of these characters and consider how they might have been feeling in this account of events.
• How does this passage make you feel and how may it help us to respond to your experience of migration or the movement of people today?
Matthew 25:35 and Ephesians 2:19
Citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God
George Al-Kopti
When my wife Mary and I moved to serve St. Paul’s Anglican church in East Amman, Jordan in 2013, the greatest need was to look after the Syrian Christian refugees who arrived in large numbers in the area since war started in their country in 2011. There were millions of Syrian refugees in Jordan, but Ashrafieh was attractive to Christian refugees in particular because it is full of churches for 11 different denominations. Eastern Christians love to live close to churches because they feel blessed and protected, and at the same time they find it their duty to serve and protect the church. That was clear when Iraqi Christians who suffered ISIS persecution that forced them to leave their land and homes in 2014. They also came to Ashrafieh, and the need to serve refugees grew.
From the beginning we thought as pastor and church that we do not need to deal with these people like strangers or intruders. We, as church that follows Jesus’ example, need to treat these people as part of the family of God. Here we could meditate on the Matthew 25:35 “I was a stranger and you welcomed me”. The translation in Arabic indicates that “you welcomed me IN”; that means Jesus and his followers must be welcomed in the church, not in the basement, or in a tent in the courtyard or on the side. They need to be part of the family of the church. Though the passage from Ephesians 2:19 talks about the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles in the family of God, we found it also talking to us as God is uniting us as Jordanians and refugees from Syria and Iraq in one household where God, our father, is the head. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.” Therefore they were welcomed as part of the church, their children are ours, their pains are ours and our resources are shared.
No doubt that those refugees brought with them blessings and challenges to our church and to the whole Christian community in Jordan. They have chosen to lose all their property and land in order to keep their faith in Christ. The question was “will myself and my people be of the same courage and faithfulness if we face the same threat one day?”
To ponder
• When did you feel a stranger and someone welcomed you? How did it feel?
• The family of God is diverse and colourful. What do you like about it? When do you find it difficult to share God’s household with your brothers and sisters in faith?
Luke 16: 19-31
There was once a rich man
Vatican Kit for the World Day of Refugees and Migrants
The image of the rich man and the poor man at his gate named Lazarus relates to the images of the many migrants who are waiting at borders between the rich and poor countries, like the borders between the United States and Mexico, or the borders between Europe and Africa. Borders that protect differences in wealth, opportunities and culture, and remain closed for those who try to enter.
The image of Lazarus lying at the gate, who is being fed of the crumbs wasted from the table of the rich man, is also the image of migrants left only with crumbs when the gates do not open. The enormous imbalances in the appropriation and consumption of the earth’s resources between rich and poor countries leave those born on the poor side of the borders with only the crumbs.
The parable is commonly read as a condemnation of the rich man, not because he is rich, but because he is bad. However, the gospel does not say that the rich man is bad. It does not say that he is corrupt or morally debased, nor does it say that he is not charitable. If Lazarus continued to stay at the gate, it was because Lazarus is, in a way, benefitting from the breadcrumbs. Likewise, migrants and refugees are often prevented from crossing the border. Considered as others, and outsiders, rich countries who want to provide aid would rather do so when they are still on the other side of the fence. It is an ideological position that simply perpetuates differences and divisions.
Finally, the parable’s core message is that the differences in the possession and the use of the earth’s goods have created an abyss between the rich and poor people. It is not possible to close such abyss with only crumbs to provide, with charity. It is time to close the abyss that creates division. Welcoming migrants and refugees is one way to do it, to be inclusive, not exclusive. To consider them as part of our journey with equal opportunities.
Often we only know the names of the rich people. But in the parable, the rich man has no name; the name of the poor is Lazarus, which means: God helps. Through the parable Jesus is telling us that God has taken the side of the poor.
To ponder
• When you listen to this parable, do you identify with the rich man or with Lazarus? Do you know both sides of the gate or only one?
• If God has taken the side of the poor, what does this mean for us as Christians?
Acts: 2:1-13
We all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done
Tapas Ghosh
Encountering a biblical text with an ecumenical frame of mind is an intense challenge. Let us today try to recognise the ecumenical endeavour as a prospect to address the compartmentalised social setting in our time. Acts 2:1-13 may improvise a theoretical framework to transform our diversity into a ‘Salad Bowl’ in which our individual uniqueness will be secured and the richness will be infused to consolidate us.
And so we may pray: O Holy Spirit, we invite you to witness the impossible when we encounter you. Open up our minds and place a desire in our hearts to be ecumenical, practically and spiritually. Amen.
Recognising ecumenism among us depends on the process of identification of our contemporary need. To be together we must clarify ‘why?’ Disciples were together in unison as obedience to the instruction of Lord. What about us?
God will use us as a catalyst group when our ecumenical unity actualises the command of our Lord. Such impossible ecumenism unified nearly fifteen nationalities / cities / communities (9-11) to communicate the message of God through St. Peter.
The knowledge-based scientific life often pushes us to think for possible ecumenism as a mark of our own capacity alone. It is a modern challenge that needs to be acknowledged. Doctrinal differences, cultural diversities and personal conviction may hinder our ecumenical hope. We have to delegitimise the old normative objective resolution, and be open to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
“Drunk” was what people said, but Peter stood and said (15) “No, we are not”. Here comes introspection and internalisation of the inner meaning of the text. Confronting our differences through confirming God together, could be a new starting point.
Migration makes societies cosmopolitan in nature. So, attempts to be ecumenical are a necessity to combat contemporary tension and crisis. We must be a participatory ecumenical group to bring positive changes to our churches and larger society. Make our world better; being a touch-stone like Peter.
May our good God bless us and keep us ecumenically relevant.
To ponder
• What role does faith play when you travel to a foreign country? How does your faith make you look at other countries differently?
• Faith and the Bible have migrated through mission in many countries and cultures. Today, Christians from many countries mix and mingle. They celebrate services in congregations of different languages and origins. Are we still sisters and brothers in faith?
• Is it true for you to be a “spiritual migrant”? What exactly does this mean to you? What would it mean for our Church as an institution?
Galatians 3:28
Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal
Fiona Kendall
This passage follows Paul’s explanation to the Galatians of the purpose and relevance of the law in the context of faith and the covenant made by God. Paul has been at pains to show that the law serves a purpose but that the purpose is limited. Far more significant are the promise made by God to his people and the fulfilment of that promise in the grace which comes from Christ, which frees God’s children from sin. So who are the “children of God”? Verse 28 could not be clearer: no one group has a greater claim on God than another. “Children of God” cuts across cultural, social and gender divisions. The outcasts and non-entitled – Greeks, slaves and female – are on an equal footing with those occupying a privileged place within society. Our position before God has nothing to do with our social standing, nationality, gender or tradition. Our acceptance as children of God derives from our baptism in Christ: a free choice open to all.
To ponder
• In today’s society it is often suggested to us that certain groups lie at the root of our difficulties, be they strangers, migrants, travelling folk, young people or the unemployed. What can we do to counter the temptation to generalize? How can we remind others – and ourselves – that we all stand equally before God? How should we react when someone in such a group behaves as predicted?
• Does the passage encourage us to celebrate diversity, uniformity, or something else?
Hebrews 13: 2
Be sure to welcome strangers into your home
David Bradwell
The instruction to show hospitality to strangers is a recurrent theme. It was an expectation in the ancient world that is fairly uncommon in Western societies today. You might catch glimpses of it in stories of the pilgrimage Camino de Santiago de Compostela, or in places such as Taizé or Iona; or closer to home, in the night shelters or refugee hosting programmes that offer emergency accommodation to desperate people.
The original audience of this letter would of course have been familiar with the Hebrew scriptures. The line about ‘entertaining angels without knowing it’ would be an obvious reference to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:1- 16). Here the moral is very clear – Abraham’s generosity and observance of the rules of hospitality were repaid with the promise of a son, despite his and Sarah’s advanced age.
The Biblical instructions to ‘love the stranger’, respect the rights of foreigners, ensure the fair treatment of those at risk of oppression, and the reminder ‘that you were once strangers in Egypt’ makes migrant protection the most-repeated commandment in the Bible. The reason for this is possibly two-fold. The first is that it is important. The second is that human beings are very bad at keeping it and we need to be reminded again and again.
The blessing given to those who offer hospitality is well-known. And in the Gospels we have read that Christ himself is there, in the place of the stranger (Matthew 25: 35-40). And so by welcoming the stranger, we welcome Christ.
To ponder
• How would you react if a complete stranger arrived at your door asking for food and shelter for the night?
• What are the small changes we can make in our daily lives to show more hospitality?
• How have you been a blessing to those who have given you hospitality in the past?
