No Longer Strangers and Aliens but Fellow Citizens

by Tim Weaver

So, then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.

Ephesians 2:19-20, NRSV

I have been traveling to Honduras for more than 20 years to support initiatives to improve children’s health in under-resourced rural areas with the Conference-Related Ministry Healthy Niños Honduras. My commitment to this work is born out of living and serving in Venezuela in the 1980s, global economic inequality and disparity, and the growing awareness of being part of a global community of believers.

As conflicts in the U.S. over immigration have festered for more than 20 years, I have welcomed the opportunity to serve in a small way in one of countries most affected by inequality. I have seen poverty, malnutrition, and violence in Honduras.

Healthy Niños has a nutrition center where mothers and malnourished children can live for one or two months while the malnourished child receives attention from doctors, social workers, teachers, and faith leaders. There are also staff who identify and train community leaders to support this work.

I have worked alongside Hondurans who are committed to helping their fellow citizens better their living conditions. These Hondurans are not strangers or aliens to me but fellow citizens of the household of God.

I am also aware of the lost hope with which many Venezuelans and Hondurans currently live. Poverty and violence are a deadly combination. For some, it leads to seeking a better future through an arduous journey of immigrating to the United States. Contrary to popular opinion, most who make that journey are hardworking people seeking to escape violence and send money back to their families. The rate of violent crime among immigrants is significantly less than that of those born and raised in the U.S.

The day after I returned home from Honduras last January, the new president shut down the CBP One app which immigrants used to schedule asylum appointments at the U.S.-Mexico border. ICE is now permitted to enter “sensitive locations” including schools, hospitals, and churches. I know numerous immigrants in the agricultural, meat packing, and health care fields who are devastated by fear of what may happen next. They are not strangers or aliens but fellow citizens in household of God with me.

As a follower of Jesus, my travels to Central America as well as friendship with immigrants living in the U.S. remind me of several truths. First, I am a member of the global community of faith with many nationalities and languages. The color of my skin, the language that I speak, and the place where I live should not give me any preferred status or power in the global community of faith.

Secondly, I must resist the current political rhetoric that stereotypes immigrants as despicable, violent, and taking benefits away from me. Immigrants paid $51 billion in taxes last year and received nothing in return.

Thirdly, Jesus’ teachings invite our mission to be the same as his as stated in Luke 4:18-19, to “bring good news to the poor, release to the captive, recovery of sight to the blind, and let the oppressed go free,” NRSV. Jesus also reminds his followers how to live in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5 and Luke 6).

My life has been enriched by fellow citizens in the household of God whose skin color and language are different from mine as we share space around the table of Christ.