Wanderers, immigrants and welcome

The first person of history that we meet in the Bible was named Abram, later renamed Abraham. He lived in a town called Haran located in the upper reaches of Babylonia. We are told by the Genesis writer that God spoke to Abraham and told him to go to a promise land hundreds of miles southwest of Haran. He is later described as “going forth, not knowing where he was going.” In the Bible, he is called “Abraham, a wandering Aramean.”

Abraham was not unusual for his era. Cities were not well-developed and the Middle East had large numbers of family tribes and clans that wandered the area. There was little or no sense of people or groups “owning” land. Clans settled in an area for brief times, then moved on seeking better solutions to their needs. Abraham and his family became one of those wandering clans that were rootless and headed to nowhere in particular.

It was hunger and poverty that drove the Abraham clan, now led by his grandson Israel, to head for Egypt where they understood that food was plentiful. They found a good life in Egypt until there was a change of rulers. They enslaved the sons of Israel and used them as laborers on massive building projects. The lives of the Israelites were miserable until a young leader names Moses organized them and led them back to the deserts Northeast of Egypt from where they had come. Again they became wandering refugees. By tradition they wandered for 40 years. Then, according to non-Biblical tradition, a dramatic change in their history took place.

The Israelite tribe encountered the Hipiru tribe. Apparently this is where the name Hebrew finds its roots. The Hipiru tribe was a tribe of mercenaries, skilled in warfare. The two tribes apparently merged and set out to take over the land that God had promised Abraham. The formula was simple. Those who inhabited the land were given a choice. Either they could bow down to the Israelite God or be killed. If clans and tribes bowed down to the Israelites, they became Israelites. If they did not, they were killed. The Israelite/Hipiru combo became a killing machine. The promise land was at last delivered to the children of Abraham by brutal force.

I have told this history in brief summary with a purpose. Wandering and migrating are a part of our human heritage. In our 21st century era we are observing yet another version of the wanderers and their plight. They are driven by hunger, a need for safety and a hope for a new beginning. Their numbers are growing world-wide. The “Abraham clan experience” is also in full force here in Alaska. Here we speak of “natives,” but in fact there is no such people. The people that we call Indians, Eskimos or Aleuts are not in fact native to Alaska. They are wanderers like the rest of us. Many of their ancestors continued south and east. They were doing just what human beings have always done. They wandered and immigrated. As a teenager, born in Fairbury, Illinois, I never dreamed that I would end up in a place called Palmer, Alaska. In fact, I am a wanderer, who had no idea where I was going.

The story of Abraham is the story of us all. The story of the human race is a story of migration to a new place in search for a better life.

Much of the Old Testament is best understood in the context of wandering and migrating. The laws of hospitality are prominent and show up in the teachings and ministry of Jesus. For Jesus the true identity of an Israelite was the “son of Abraham” who offered hospitality to a stranger. Jesus reduced the Law of God to two specifics. The first was love of God. The second was love of neighbor. From his story telling it is obvious that the homeless, the hungry, and the sick were all his neighbors. Even those, who were perceived as enemies were to be loved and welcomed.

As a Great Depression child, I learned some difficult lessons from my family. We lived half a block from the railroad tracts. Many wanderers hooked rides on the freight trains. They were headed west looking for a new life. When a wandering stranger showed up at our door and asked for food, my mother made a sandwich for him. Once when a man showed up at our door and identified himself as a distant cousin of my father, we not only fed him, we welcomed him and he slept on our living room couch. However, lines were drawn. My father was a racist. No African American received our welcome. To my father, they were “niggers.”

Over the years my wife and I have welcomed a variety of homeless wanderers into our home. We can tell many great stories. We have had joys, and we have been robbed. We take the welcoming message of Jesus seriously.

Our beloved United States is a peculiar nation. We have no guiding ethic other than the law. Just now we have large numbers of wanderers, who want to make America their home. As a nation we have no obligation to let anyone in. Building walls is legal. However, at this point I am a protester against walls of all kinds. I could not be more opposed to our President’s proposals.

So what is my role to be? I will continue my best to speak Christian truth about justice, mercy, love, kindness, peace and welcome. I will never vote for Mr. Trump or any other wall builder. I am merely one of the wanderers, who has found hospitality. What I have been given, I want to give to other wanderers, who are looking for a safe home. For today hospitality may well be the very heart of being a Christian.

The End

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. He is pastor emeritus of Church of the Covenant in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.