By Greg Yee, Superintendent, PacNWC
You’ve heard me address the challenges around immigration from my personal story about my great-great grandfather being deported and also how it is affecting fellow PacNWC pastors and churches. I invite us to dig deeper.
As followers of Christ, we are called to reflect God’s heart for the foreigner and the stranger. Scripture is clear: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt” (Leviticus 19:34). God defends the cause of the outsider and commands His people to do the same (Deuteronomy 10:18–19). Jesus deepens this calling, identifying Himself with the stranger: “I was a stranger and you invited me in” (Matthew 25:35). Welcoming the foreigner is not optional—it is a mark of gospel faithfulness. In a divided world, may we be a people of radical hospitality, offering belonging and dignity in the name of Christ, remembering that “you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people” (Ephesians 2:19).
In Scripture, the call to welcome the foreigner is consistently woven into God’s broader mandate for righteousness and justice—two words often paired in the Bible to express right relationships and equitable action. The Hebrew word tsedaqah (righteousness) refers not just to personal morality, but to living rightly in community—especially in how we treat the vulnerable. Mishpat (justice) speaks to restorative action, ensuring fairness and lifting up those who are oppressed. As the prophet Micah declares, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Likewise, Amos thunders, “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24). Welcoming the foreigner is not merely a charitable act—it is a reflection of God’s covenant vision where justice and righteousness define how His people live and love in the world.
And yes, Romans 13:1-7 also implores us to be subject to the governing authorities. We understand that governing authorities are instituted by God and that we should pray for our leaders. We understand that we are a country of laws – and that’s good!
I urge us to not stop short of deeper consideration across the philosophical spectrum and continue to engage this – together. Let’s not do what the world does and push each other away or stop at quick sound bites and summary points. Let’s lean in to each other and dialogue.
Politics are exhausting. But this is not primarily political. How do we work through these tensions – national security, humanitarian responsibility, law, labor needs, business practices and immigration reform – and follow Jesus together?
Please join the Liturgical Common Read this Fall and create space to help figure that out.
If you’ve already read Welcoming the Stranger, please invite somebody to read it with you. And be sure to access the accompanying reader found here.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people… clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive… And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14