We come before the God of resident and alien, native and sojourner –
As Adam and Eve fled the Garden,
As Noah drifted rudderless,
As Abraham and Sarah fled famine, followed God, and journeyed everywhere but home
The God whose call knows no borders –
As Israel and Joseph were reunited and reconciled as refugees in Egypt
As Moses, a refugee was saved from death
As the Hebrews fled Egypt without time even to bake bread
The God of refuge, who chooses the poor –
Whose Law a dozen times demands justice for native and alien alike,
Who calls us to leave the gleanings for the poor and refugee,
For whom Cities of Refuge were built to house all those fleeing persecution
We come before this very God, citizens in a Kingdom that is alien to the world –
Called to love strangers as God does,
To follow Jesus the refugee who fled persecution
And to offer hospitality to all; to welcome as we have been welcomed.
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