Isaiah
56:3 NKJ Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the
LORD Speak, saying, "The LORD has utterly separated me from His people";
Nor let the eunuch say, "Here I am, a dry tree."
I
searched out this verse in order to illustrate the biblical foundation of a
magnificent homily by the great British web logger who channels the second
martyred and first protestant Archbishop of Canterbury. His post is copied and
linked below.
But I
find that Isaiah 56.3 speaks to my personal condition in a number of ways.
For the
childless, it encourages us to contribute testimony, time, and substance for
the good of our neighbors in church, family, and community, as parents provide
for children. Remember Paul - 1Co 11.1, 4.15 -.
For an
elite of a national majority, it encourages us to count as excrement the
excellences which have claimed our loyalty. Again, remember Paul - Phil 3.5,6,7,8,9-12 -.
As an aged
immigrant into a better Christian tradition and congregation than those of my
earlier life, it has taken fifteen years to begin to appreciate the blessings
providentially given me. I am reminded of Ahab - 1Ki 21.26,27,29 -, and of
Hezekiah - 2Ki 20.5,6,20 -.
From
++Cranmer: Romanians, Bulgarians and Jesus
[Full
text below, My emphasis. Link: http://bit.ly/19D5c57
]
It is
not clear how many Romulans and Vulgarians have landed. Early indications
suggest that they are few in number and indistinguishable from the indigenous
species. Some reports suggest that there may be more to come and may be
readily identified by their black hair, pointed ears, up-swept eyebrows and (if
you pierce them) copper-based blue blood. A few of them have been seen to possess
a V-shaped ridge above the bridge of the nose, which might make assimilation
and job hunting a little difficult.
Bulgarian
and Romanian citizens are now free to live and work in the UK after controls in
place since 2007 expired. We humble and common folk can do absolutely
nothing about this: our political masters have unanimously decreed that it must
be so, and there is no mechanism for changing the policy. Talk of revolution is
unseemly; thoughts of Ukip winning a general election are absurd. So, get over
it. They are here, or they are coming.
And they
are people.
Amidst
all the unpleasant rhetoric, one sometimes feels that Romanians and Bulgarians
are vile, sub-human creatures, devoid of feelings, decency and morality. You may
loathe the self-promoting Home Affairs Select Committee Chairman Keith Vaz, but
his decision to spend New Year's Day greeting passengers on the first flight
from Romania was courteous, compassionate and benevolent. It is how human
beings ought to treat other human beings.
It is
the sort of love that Christians might show those foreigners who have chosen to
dwell among us, for they do so perfectly legally.
It may
be "irresponsible to open the door unconditionally", but it is open.
You may wish it were otherwise, but it is not. You can pretend that it is, and
scoff and scorn at the flood of thieves, tramps and benefit scroungers, or
you can meet one or two, talk to them, and discover their hopes and dreams. For
they live with bread, like you; feel want, taste grief, and need friends.
They are
equal to us: they have the same human rights, and are worthy of dignity and
respect. You may disagree that such migrants are essential to economic
recovery, but they are here nonetheless. You may object to them having access
to higher wages and tax credits, but they are here. You can argue about
national sovereignty or the ethics of immigration and cultural identity. But
they are here. You can moan about overcrowded schools, the inability to get a
doctor's appointment or see a dentist. But they are here. To be embittered
about their presence is self-destructive and futile, for they are here. To spit
at them or despise them is a profoundly un-Christian discrimination, for
Jesus loves them and they are our neighbour.
So, as
they try to live among us and scratch out a living from a cold bedsit, treat
them as you would your friends: be kind, courteous and considerate. For they
have come here to seek a better life for themselves. You may wish it were
otherwise, but EU accession has manifestly done nothing for them in their own
impoverished towns and jobless villages, and so they are here among us. And you
and your neighbour are equal partners within a universe which has its origin
and end in God. To love them is the highest good; to disdain them a tyranny.
Their welfare and liberty, or their misery and enslavement, are in your hands.
Do not view them as objects of corruption or parasitical need, for they are
your fellow man, and to withhold your neighbour-love is to deny their value and
significance and negate your love for God. They are in a foreign land, but
so are you, for our citizenship is in heaven. [My emphasis.]
I2C 140102a Isa 56v3 pp Cranmer on immigrants / I2C / 140102 1312 / Isaiah 56:3 ++Cranmer on immigrants
