CHRISTIAN ACTIVISM
"God defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt." (Deuteronomy 10:18-19)
Christians must be concerned about immigration.
Recently-passed immigration legislation in Arizona, and the proposal of similar bills in other states, should have Christians around the United States concerned. Many critics fear the bill will increase racial profiling and discrimination but fail to address the deepest failures of America's broken immigration system. In May, in recognition of the embedded problems in all of America's immigration law (not just Arizona), a group of students from Calvin College organized a rally to call attention to the embedded structural inequalities, human rights abuses, and destruction of families and communities that current immigration law perpetuates.
The Church seems to shy away from politics. But as authors like Rodney Clapp and Stanley Hauerwas remind us, the Church is political. It involves a specific vision of the way things ought to be--"shalom"--and communicates normative beliefs about life in this world. The Christian faith has never been about other-worldliness or pie-in-the-sky spirituality. Jesus' very incarnation bears witness to the importance of this world in the Kingdom of God.
But too often, involvement in this world has tarnished the church, dragging us into rabid party loyalties, political mudslinging, and idolatrous commitment to single-issue platforms. Instead of embodying a Christ-centered counterculture, the American church has often morphed into a subculture: a modified version of the culture at large. We have occasionally forgotten that our primary allegiance is not to the kingdoms of this world, but to the kingdom of heaven (John 18:36).
Certainly, Christians should engage in politics, but a different sort of politics. There are questions that must be asked about legality, economics, and border control. But those debates are secondary to our calling as Christians: to love God and to love our neighbor (even those who have entered this country illegally). If our laws prohibit us from offering them love and mercy, we must do whatever we can to change our laws, and give love and mercy anyway.
We must realize this: we worship a God who is love; thus, the Church must love the aliens among us--after all, we are also aliens here. We worship a God who is justice, and who commands us to act justly and love mercy (Micah 6:8). We worship a God who created all people in his image, and cares for the lives of each of them (Psalm 130:13).
After the rally, an older Hispanic man approached me, hand outstretched and tears in his eyes. "Thank you," he said, shaking my hand firmly. "We need you."
His words hit hard. The group of us who had organized the event had never dreamed of what it would bring: Spanish radio stations throughout West Michigan heard of our rally and put it on the air, bringing Hispanic families from all over Grand Rapids onto Calvin's campus in support. That afternoon, we watched in amazement as parents and children came from all directions, bolstering the crowd and attracting the curious stares of passing students.
The hugs and handshakes of appreciative community members after the rally taught us something unexpected. Never before had we thought about our amazing opportunity and responsibility, or what our act of support and hospitality would communicate to the Hispanic population of Grand Rapids. In our advocacy, we were showing them love and grace; in our activism, we were trying to embody the truth of Christ. Even as students at a prominent Christian college, we had failed to realize that our voices and actions matter to the Church and to the world--until that afternoon.
But our voices matter a great deal. We should not be afraid to use them--with love and grace. Every time we open our mouths, let us speak only the truth of Jesus Christ and his gospel--a message that promises hope and an end to injustice (Job 5:16).
Special thanks to Daniel, Jessica, Nicole, Laura, Elena, Jack, and Luke (and any others who I've forgotten).
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