A Prayer for Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers

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I was participating in a social media discussion with someone who began his comment with, "I love my immigrant brothers and sisters, but..." He then proceeded to write a couple of extremely long paragraphs about all the ways he wants to exclude them, is suspicious of their motives and wants to deny what they ask for. He complained about what he perceives is their lack of assimilation to his culture and language. He felt he had valid concerns in the context of securing borders.

Where exactly is the love in all this?

Imagine going up to your wife and saying, "I love, you honey, but here's a list of two dozen behaviors of yours I want you to change pronto, thanks." 

You may indeed love your wife, but you are not showing love at that moment in time.

Despite this person's claim of having love for immigrants, he gave no evidence for it. There was no talk whatsoever about how he shows love to these people or even his desire to show love. There was no evidence that he was struggling over how to better demonstrate love for immigrants.

Love is not easy. It takes time, attention and lots and lots of work. It is a goal we should apply ourselves to every day. It is a concern we should bring to prayer. You can't just say "I love them" and shrug your shoulders as some kind of a blow off. Love involves constant work and attention.

A counselor once told me that a loving relationship is one where there are 10 positive things said for every negative thing. Given this, can most Christians say they are acting in a loving way toward immigrants?

If love if your focus, that's where your attention would be. Think about and write about all the ways you can learn to love your neighbor in even better and bigger ways that you did before. When your attention is on all the exceptions, exclusions and disclaimers, that is not a good witness to Christian love.

Perhaps that person has never been shown how to bring these concerns to prayer . . .

A Prayer for 

Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum seekers

I've visited lots of churches of various denominations. Many Christians have strong opinions about immigration, ranging from the most conservative to the most liberal. However, I can't recall many times when the congregation has bowed its head in prayer and brought its concerns to God in an open way simply asking God to provide guidance in light of His Divine Word in the Bible.

Let's do that now:

Loving Father, we give thanks to you for all you have given us:  

The gift of life and the gift of creation around us,

The gift of your son Jesus who shows us how to love as sisters and brothers, and

The sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit in our world and in our lives today.

We acknowledge that all we have is through your grace alone and not by our works.

Lord God, you command us to love one another and you tell us that this command is the command on which all the others hang. 

In your Beatitudes, you tell us to be humble, to be merciful to others, to be peacemakers of your Kingdom "on earth as it is in Heaven" and to look to and prefer the poor. You tell us to hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice.

In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, you tell us to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and look after the imprisoned and sick.

We acknowledge the words you have spoken to us and the seriousness of your commands.

Teach us how to do this. 

Your children—our sisters and brothers—come to our door as refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers. Show us how to love more deeply, to welcome more warmly and to grow in tenderness and mercy.  Help us to look after their needs as they undergo their perilous journey longing for peace, safety and wholeness for their families. 

Help us to open our ears to hear their concerns better, 

and open our eyes to see their struggles more clearly,

So we can discern—with your guidance—how to respond as Christian disciples.

God the Father, how can we love refugees more today than we did yesterday? 

Jesus our brother, how can we show mercy to the asylum seeker knocking at our door and be the good neighbor you call us to be?

Through your grace in the Holy Spirit, how can we help cultivate peace in a world torn apart by war, poverty and violence?

Some borders and divisions may be regrettably necessary in this fallen, limited world. Help us to discern that whatever borders and locks we choose will only exist to serve your will and help foster the Kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven."

We pray to be your instruments in this world, giving to others out of thanks for all that you have given us. Without you we would have nothing. You remind us when you say:

Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt (Exodus 23:9).

For the gift of discernment 

     of your will 

          and not ours, we pray.

Amen.

***

Scripture references (unless cited above):

Greatest Commandment: Matthew 22:34-40

Beatitudes: Matthew 5:3-10

The Good Neighbor: Luke 10:25-37

Parable of the Sheep and Goats: Matthew 25:31-46