UCA SA - Reflection for the Week

Welcoming the stranger

By Rev Christa Megaw

As Australians, we are a country made up of a diversity of people. Recently we have seen some of the political conversation turn to migration, with some saying that these numbers need to be reduced. Sometimes I hear migrants and refugees talked about as though they are just numbers and those numbers need to be drastically reduced. Instead, I have found that they are often ordinary people like me searching for hope – a safe home and a bright future for themselves and their families.

Hospitality is a core tenet of our faith – hospitality to all and not just some. Many Bible verses refer to welcoming the stranger, with perhaps the most well-known being Jesus saying, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matthew 25:35)

I have found that getting to know people from different countries not only helps them begin to feel at home, but it also enriches my life too. It gives me a wider perspective of faith and life, seen through different eyes. My call to ministry as a deacon in the Uniting Church became most evident through visiting refugees and asylum seekers at Baxter Detention Centre. As we listened to the stories of these asylum seekers fleeing from war and persecution in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, I knew that Jesus was with us in these encounters. Any barriers that might have been there were overcome by realising our common humanity and our common need for hope, rather than fear.

The stories of these asylum seekers have now mostly been woven into the bigger story of modern-day Australia. They were eventually released from detention, found jobs, married, have children and are proud to call Australia home. These people are contributing to our country.

I believe that in this time of global insecurity, it is up to us, following in the way of Jesus, to continue to welcome the stranger and offer compassion to all.