Reframed, Part 6: Welcoming the Stranger

Wendy Powell, Community Outreach Pastor

   The Hebrew word ger has been translated into English as:
foreigner, guest, alien, sojourner, outsider, stranger

Leviticus 19:32–34
Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord. When a [ger] foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The [ger] foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were [ger] foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Psalm 146:6–9
He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the [ger] foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

Job 29:11–17
Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them. The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the [ger] stranger.

Ezekiel 22:29–31
Again the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the land…This people practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the [ger] foreigner, denying them justice. I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.’ So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Matthew 22:37–39
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Deuteronomy 10:17–19
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the [ger] foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are [ger] foreigners, for you yourselves were [ger] strangers in Egypt.

We were once ger, and the love and welcome he expects us to show the stranger is because that is how he has welcomed us.

We live the garden where we belong

Most of us are ethnically gentile, not part of God’s

As disciples of Christ, we are and here on earth

The Greek word like ger is xeno, and in these three passages it’s combined with another word:

Romans 12:9–13 (philoxenia) philo means love, xenia is of strangers

Titus 1:7–9 (philoxenos) literally stranger-loving

1 Timothy 5:10 (xenodocheō) translates as stranger-welcome

Matthew 25:31–46
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
      “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a [xenos] stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
      “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a [xenos] stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
      “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
      “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a [xenos] stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
      “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a [xenos] stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
      “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
      “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

If we love God, we will ; the two are inseparable.

Don’t let others tell you what is , what is ; find out for yourself.

We cannot rightly understand or rightly apply God’s truth without the help of .

The Bible’s View of the Stranger

8 Mondays, October 27–December 15

6:30-8:00 PM in The Meeting Place

Small Group Questions

1. How familiar were you with the biblical theme of welcoming the stranger before this message? Were the scripture passages familiar to you?
2. What do you know about your family’s immigration story? Where did your ancestors come from? Do you know what brought them to America?
3. In what situations have you been a stranger? Who welcomed you?
4. Think about the places you frequent in a typical week. Where might you have an opportunity to welcome someone who is unfamiliar to you or that setting?
5. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?