As I sat in church, I reflected on the people who have built and attended that church. My family attends a Lutheran church which was built by German immigrants. We ourselves are not German but I realize that we presentlly benefit from the vision and hard work of Germans who built that house of worship and also started the school connected to the church. These Germans in turn were descended from Germanic peoples who, peacefully or violently, overran the Roman Empire. In search of new lands, these immigrants changed the world. At that time, many of the local Roman citizens considered the Germanic peoples a scourge. 

    However, many centuries later, one man among the many descendants of these people group became a great reformer of the Christian church, and his reforms changed western society. For example, his idea of the Priesthood of all believers, that Priests are not intrinsically more special to God, became extended to society into the idea of the rule of law, that kings are not above the law. He did not originate the idea but he is the one who providentially was placed in position to propagate the idea.

     The reality that immigrants, not appreciated but eventually becoming workers for the welfare of society, made me think of our attitude towards immigration. Immigrants are thought of as those who take resources from us and change our way of life for the worse. They are viewed with suspicion and contempt. Laws are made to keep their numbers down. Instead of cultivating nature around us to make more space for others, we would rather hold on to the space we have- literally and figuratively. Some nations are built on the backbone of immigrants (e.g Saudi Arabia), although these immigrants are restricted (no freedom of religion, no chance of becoming rulers). The dominant culture is protected from the influence of immigrants.  

     Judeao-Christian tradition promotes the opposite attitude- openness to the alien. In the Old testament, the land is to be open and the people are commanded to be kind to the alien. Admittedly, rule is restricted to Jews alone to protect religious/cultural identity. However, when the Jews were driven out of their land they were to be the model immigrants, seeking the peace and welfare of the city they are driven into- sort of a reverse openness. Therefore, this openness to the other, as an immigrant or a dominant member of society, is woven into the tradition.

     The Christian teaching that the people of God is a worldwide community implies openness to the contributions of every culture, under the Lordship of Jesus. This is the fulfillment of Old testament openness. The unity that Jesus prays for among believers, who now include people from every nation, implies that we are one with Christians whose language and culture is different from ours- they are part of us and we are part of them. This means that white American Christians should not mind learning from a black/hispanic/asian pastor. In the Christian mind, the ultimate immigrant is God himself, in the person of Jesus- similar and different to us at the same time.