Posts Tagged ‘refugees’

The stranger in our midst – Jacob’s family in Egypt

August 22, 2026

Pentecost 13 – 2026

Exodus 1:8-2:10

Marian Free

In the name of God whose welcome embraces all. Amen.

I’m a bit over Facebook, but every now and then someone posts a real gem that manages to get through the algorithm. This week there were several gems, one of which was a cartoon by Wilcox from THE AGE. Over a number of frames, a woman responds to a question from a journalist on the issue of migration. His opening question is: “Do you think Australia is taking in too many migrants?” The woman responds. “I don’t know. I mean, are we talking about the immigrants who look after my mother in the aged care home?” “Or the ones who come in and pick fruit for low wages so that we can have affordable fresh produce?” “Or the ones working in construction to build our housing and infrastructure?” “Or those who are training to be the medical specialists we are short of?” “I really don’t know,” she concludes, “maybe you could ask the government they should know.”

As the cartoon suggests, migration is a particularly contentious issue at the moment. In this country those who are and who are not welcome has always been a matter for political point-scoring and public debate. Elsewhere the issue of migration has reached a crisis point. Those deemed to be illegal residents of the United States are being hunted down, arrested and sent to awful prisons in impoverished third-world countries with no hope of release. And in many other nations of the world today migrants and refugees are being scapegoated for all the ills in the countries in which they find themselves. 

I am not claiming to have answers, but I often wonder why the issue has to be so divisive and polarizing. There must be a compassionate way of determining a balance between the economic needs of our country and the need to ensure that our citizens are not unduly penalized by pressure on housing, jobs and other resources. Once we have welcomed migrants or refugees we have to ensure that they are not demonized, scapegoated or used to further political agendas. 

When I read Exodus in preparation for this morning, I couldn’t help but see some parallels with the current political situation. Some background is important. The Israelites are in Egypt because a generation before they were welcomed as migrants orr refugees from a drought-ravaged country. 

You have to read from Genesis 40 to the end to get the full story, but it goes something like this. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers – a cruel and selfish act, but one which after a time proved of benefit to his family. Joseph experienced some hard times, including being thrown in prison. However, while a prisoner, he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and as a result was appointed to the most powerful position in Egypt – second only to Pharaoh. Joseph was given authority to buy and store grain during seven years of plentiful harvests so that there would be sufficient food to feed not only the Egyptians, but the whole world, during seven years of famine. As predicted, the famine, when it did come, impacted a vast area, including the land in which Joseph’s father and brothers lived. 

Jacob, Joseph’s father, knew that there was food in Egypt, so he sent his sons to buy grain. After some comings and goings (you’ll have to read them for yourselves), Joseph made himself known to his brothers, insisted that they move to Egypt and offered them the land of Goshen in which to live. 

Meanwhile, the drought continued and the Egyptians, who had spent all their money on Pharaoh’s grain, were forced to offer themselves to Pharaoh as slaves in order to feed themselves and their families. Joseph not only bought their land, but he also imposed a 20% levy on everything that they grew. This means that the Egyptians are completely impoverished and totally dependent on Pharaoh. Jacob’s family meanwhile have been living on the best land, have retained their position as free men (and women), and have not been burdened by heavy taxes. They have flourished such that they have grown in number and “become so strong that the land was filled with them”.

Of course, this account is told from the perspective of the Israelites, so we do not know whether there is some exaggeration and we certainly do not know how the ordinary Egyptian felt about the situation. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that, as they were struggling with debt and facing starvation, they would have been more than a little resentful of the Israelites who, though not Egyptians, who were perceived to have received special treatment and had benefited from and been enriched at their expense. 

Joseph and his generation die – including the Pharaoh who had given Joseph’s family such a warm welcome. It is no surprise that a new Pharaoh, one who owes no loyalty to Joseph or his family, seizes an opportunity to unite a disgruntled, over-taxed people against a common enemy, to unite them in a joint cause, and to give them leave to denigrate, abuse and enslave those whose relative wealth and number has been the cause of so much bitterness.

The story of the Israelites in Egypt occurred something like 4,000 years ago, but in many essentials, the world has not changed. Millions upon millions[1] of people continue to flee their homelands as a consequence of drought, war or political persecution and they hope for a welcome in countries where there is wealth and plenty, only to find doors shut in their faces or to experience suspicion, prejudice and even fear. The account of the Israelites in Egypt under a new Pharaoh reminds us that in every age people have sought to guard their borders and their resources, have regarded outsiders with suspicion and have felt threatened when those who are supposed to be vulnerable and dependent succeed where they have not. 

Our task, as people who follow Christ, is to welcome the stranger, to break down barriers and to share what we have with those who have less. History, it seems, will always repeat itself.  We are charged with disrupting the cycle, and contributing to a society in which all are valued, all are able to offer their gifts, and in which all can live in peace and security. 

[1] 117.8 million at the end of 2025.

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Choose wisely, your future depends on it

August 27, 2016

Pentecost 15 – 2016

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Marian Free

 

In the name of God whose ways are not our ways. Amen.

 

One of the most contentious issues of our time relates to that of refugees, in particular, how the should the world respond to a crisis that threatens at times to overwhelm us? At the present moment around 60 million people are displaced. That is 60 million people have left their homes as a consequence of war, oppression, persecution, drought or poverty. Sixty million people are today seeking refuge from horrors that few of us can even begin to imagine.

Last year, the war in Syria saw an unprecedented number of people flocking to Europe by any means possible – by land and by sea, by foot, by boat and by train. Thousands lost their lives at sea as unscrupulous operators, used unsafe and overcrowded boats to ferry desperate people – not for humanitarian reasons but to line their own pockets. There were so many escaping horror that receiving countries were simply unable to cope. Not only could they not process the vast numbers seeking refuge, but fears about housing, feeding and providing work to the millions who were knocking at their doors led many European countries to close their borders. Terror attacks in France further raised the general anxiety about accepting people from countries that were also home to extremist groups such as ISIS.

Increasingly, compassion and welcome has turned to disquiet and distrust, generosity and openness have turned to protectionism and exclusion. The recent Brexit vote in the UK was as much about keeping Britain British and closing the borders as it was about the economic advantages or disadvantages of being a part of the EU. In Germany, the country which has been most determined to keep its borders open, recent attacks by traumatized refugees has highlighted the difficulties of providing adequate care for those whose mental health has been seriously affected by their experiences of war, displacement and the dangerous, uncertain escape to safety.

Issues surrounding migration and refugees are central to the Presidential campaign in the United States where there is talk of building walls, limiting the intake of refugees and so on. Here in Australia the issue is no less contentious. Discussions surrounding who to let in and who to exclude can be highly volatile. The debate has become so politicized and so divisive that it can be difficult to discuss the problem rationally. Fear of the other, defense of our standard of living and way of life and anxiety related to radical Islamism all mean that it can be hard to see the majority who are genuine behind the minority who may or not intend harm.

We are rightly appalled at the unscrupulous profiteering of people smugglers distressed by the deaths at sea as desperate people risk their lives to escape violence, oppression and discrimination at home but we cannot agree on how best to respond to those who take enormous risks hoping to find a safe haven.

It is not always easy to find the balance between caring for others and caring for our own. How do we determine at what point does generosity and compassion end and fiscal irresponsibility and prejudice begin?

It is a complex issue and I don’t claim to have all the answers, but it seems to me that today’s gospel gives us something to think about in relation to these questions. To recap: Jesus has been invited to a meal at the home of a Pharisee[1]. By now Jesus has gained a reputation and people are keen to see what he will get up to next. They are not disappointed – he challenges them to provide a reason as to why he may not cure a man who has dropsy and they are silent.

Then the situation is reversed. Jesus becomes the observer. In the first instance he observes the way in which people take their places at table and then he turns to his host and makes an observation about the guest list.

Jesus makes two speeches. The first provides practical advice to the guests on how to avoid humiliation while the second challenges the host to rethink his guest list. Interestingly the speeches take the same format – Jesus’ observation, a statement regarding what not to do, a comment on what to do and finally a theological rule. In the first speech Jesus observes the guests’ tendency to take the places of honour and he makes a pragmatic suggestion: “Take the lowest place so that the host might ask you to go up higher.” The practical nature of the speech changes with the conclusion that, though it is sensible advice, also points in a theological and an eschatological direction: “all who humble themselves will be exalted and all who exalt themselves will be humbled”. The future tense and the passive mood of the verbs tell us that this is not only a consequence that will occur in the present, but that humbling and exalting are actions that God will take in the future – at the judgement.

Having addressed the guests, Jesus turns his attention to his host. He suggests a radical reversal to the social norms of the day: “Don’t invite your friends or those who can return the favour, invite those who cannot repay you then you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” This time Jesus’ conclusion points very clearly to the resurrection – those who welcome the marginalised and the outcast are those who not only will be blessed in the present, but who will be welcomed at the resurrection.

The message of the two speeches is clear – God does not see as the world sees and, our behaviour in this life will affect what happens at the resurrection. The dinner party foreshadows the heavenly banquet and the place we take will reveal our self-assurance or our dependence on God. The invitation list for the wedding banquet reveals whether our concern for our reputation and our social position outweighs our compassion for others.

The place we assume will affect the place we are given, the welcome we give will determine the welcomes we are given. Choose wisely, Jesus suggests, your future depends on it.

[1] It is important to note that not all Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees were antagonistic, but that Jesus was happy to social with Pharisees and they with him.

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