I Was A Stranger And You Welcomed Me

By now you've probably seen or heard of some of the protests in Murrieta, California. If not, Google it. Three busloads of undocumented immigrant children were being transported there for processing. There were about 140 total. And while I don't know the exact ages of these individuals, everyone agrees they are children.

You can think what you want about immigration. You can blame whoever you like, and you can say whatever makes you feel good. You can say the President is wrong for not enforcing the laws, or you can blame the Republicans for blocking immigration reform.

But this scene made me sick. Buses full of children, miles from home, I'm sure feeling scared, lost, and lonely; not knowing when or if they will ever see their parents again; not knowing if they will ever see their homes again; definitely strangers in a strange land. And when they arrived in the buses, they were greeted by a mob of angry people screaming "Go home, we don't want you here."

Maybe the protesters were right. Maybe the children should be sent home. Maybe. But as I watched the video, I couldn't help thinking of Matthew 25. I'm pretty sure most of the protesters would call themselves Christians. And I'm sure many of them read the Bible. I know it's hard to live as Jesus wants us to, and I'll be the first to admit that I certainly don't. Yet the verse kept going through my mind, and the contrast of what Jesus said, and what these people were doing, was overwhelming.

Matthew 25:31-46 is below. These are Jesus' words. Read it, and make your own choice.

The Final Judgment

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." Then the righteous will answer him, saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me."

Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Then they also will answer, saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?" Then he will answer them, saying, "Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

I know America just can't take in every single refugee in the entire world. Yet...