In one of my classes, we were asked to write a letter to a congregation that was largely white and middle class concerning the influx of a large group of Hispanic immigrants in the community due to the opening of a meat packing plant.  Here is my response; it is largely devoid of references to secondary literature due to the nature of letters.

Dear [Member]:

Hello. The board has asked me to draft a letter which details our vision of a Hispanic ministry. As you are well aware, with the opening of the Cargill meat packing plant on the outskirts of our town, our community has seen a tremendous influx of Hispanic immigrants into our community. This cultural shift necessitates a response by our church. The reasons for this are two-fold; first, there is a shift in our communal thoughts – we hear whispers and shouts of fear-riddled antagonism concerning these newcomers, and second, their presences necessarily shifts the cultural make up on our community.

We, as a body, must respond to both this antagonism and population shift. Let us remember the following:

We serve the Kingdom, not the Republic.

This fact is often lost on us. Like Paul, we are born into citizenship of the empire and like Paul, we need to use our citizenships to our advantage. But what is our advantage? Many of us have bought into the myth of the Increase of Self which is really a myth of the Republic instead of the myths of Hospitality, Selflessness, and Love, which are myths of the Kingdom. So then, our advantage is the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ, neither the Republic’s nor our own prosperity.

To advance the Kingdom of Christ, we propose a recovery of hospitality. Hospitality is the welcoming of the stranger, the sojourner into your homes and lives no matter where they are from. In the Old Testament, travel was perilous and there was an expectation for people to open their homes to travelers. This expectation of hospitality was so great, that in Genesis 19, Lot offered up his own daughters as sexual sacrifices rather than endanger the hospitality of his visitors.

This is not limited to the site of the home. It is also in our journeys in the culture at large. The supreme example of this is that of Christ towards the Samaritans. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews for their supposed racial impurity and corruption of Jewish religion and culture (sound familiar?). Jesus, however, used Samaritans as characters in his story, humanizing and ministering to them in John 4 and Luke 10. In fact, it was to Samaritans that his messiahship was first revealed! Just as Jesus humanized and loved the Other from the Jewish point of view, so too should we humanize and love the Other from our point of view, which given recent developments has become the Hispanic immigrants in our community.

Reaching back into the Old Testament, the example of Ruth is instructive for how we should view and treat migrants. Many of the migrations of the Patriarchs were due to famine, and this matriarch of Jesus was as well. Ruth was an immigrant to Israel; before fleeing to Israel because of a famine in her land, she had welcomed in the Israelite Naomi who had done the same. Later Ruth and Naomi switch places and it is Naomi’s family who welcomes in Ruth. She was disfavored by the law, as evidenced by Deut 23:3, and yet Naomi’s family shows her hospitality. Ruth works hard to earn the trust and acceptance of Naomi’s family, adopting many of the Hebrew’s ways. The tale of Ruth, ancestor of creation’s savior, is one of reciprocal hospitality of immigrants and the host culture. Just as Naomi’s and her family welcomed the Moabite Ruth, we too should welcome our new neighbors from the South.

To do help us recover hospitality towards our new neighbors, we suggest the following. We must change our language. This may seem as an insignificant step, but it is so very important in creating a culture free of nationalism, xenophobia and constructing one where Kingdom values are promoted. Be mindful of your speech, for “death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Pro 18:21 NRS)

We must remember that America is not some last refuge of Christendom. Instead, we need to realize that Christianity is spreading like wildfire in the so-called Third World and it our land which is increasingly unchristian. Accordingly, many of the immigrants are Christians! In reality, we share the same primary citizenship! What right do we have before the Lord to deny them?

We must perish our fears for they are rooted in Sin. If our culture shifts as we pursue the least of these, so be it. If our prosperity wanes as we are hospitable to new comers, so be it. If we ever entertain the notion of preserving our culture and our prosperity instead, we go against that which God has charged us with. After all, “if someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion– how can God’s love be in that person?” (1Jo 3:17 NLT)

So, we must model our approach towards our newfound neighbors after the ministry of Christ, not after the aims of the Republic. We are reminded that “those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” (1Jo 2:6 NLT) As we saw above, Jesus was the very embodiment of hospitality. He loved and ministered to the hated Samarians. We are to do the same. As American Christians, we are to love and minister to the hated and the oppressed, the poor and the widows. Right now in our community, the Hispanic community is the Other, the despised, the poor, the hated. We are to love them as Christ loved the Church.

The Church board is currently in the process of drafting up methods to practically put this vision into real ministry. We invite you to a member-wide meeting on Dec 20th. Please bring your ideas and, most importantly, your commitments.

Sincerely,

Henry Imler

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