Bible Verses About Refugees and Immigrants

Jesus, as a baby fleeing the violence of Herod, was a refugee. Abraham and Sarah were migrants.The people of Israel came out of Egypt as refugees. Many Lutherans came to theU.S. as migrants and refugees after the Second World War. When we talk about immigrants, we also talk about ourselves. The following is a reflection from the Director of the ELCA AMMPARO initiative:

Thank you for your interest in exploring what God has instructed us regarding our treatment of the alien, the foreigner or, in some cases, the stranger among us! Depending on your Bible translation, you may see different words. We hope that you will find these verses to be an important devotional practice, helping you to see not only what God requires of us but also, in the accompanying prayer time, new directions for your ministry or a strengthened commitment to walk with the most vulnerable around us.  

Each time I read these verses it inspires my work as program director of AMMPARO (the ELCA ministry for Acommpanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities)  and increases my advocacy actions. I love the way each verse highlights new areas of accompaniment of the migrant community. Some of the verses talk about hospitality, others talk about the law, and still others talk about labor rights, but each helps me to grow. One clear message we receive through this study is that migration is not a new phenomenon. Our biblical ancestors had to work through being and receiving migrants, both!

While many people have used this spiritual exercise in Lent or Advent, it works for the Epiphany season as well as the Easter season. It has also been shared with our elected representatives in Congress and state legislatures who profess to be Christian, to encourage dialogue around immigration issues.

While we as Lutherans always pay attention to the whole context of a Bible passage in our Bible study and are not supportive of the use of individual Bible verses as a kind of proof text for theological positions, you are certainly encouraged to expand your study to include helpful contextualization.

-Mary Campbell, ELCA Director of AMMPARO

Verses:

1. Exodus 22:21 - 21 “You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
2. Leviticus 19:9-10 - 9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.
3. Job 29:16 - I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger.
4. Jeremiah 22:3 - 3 Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.
5. Zechariah 7:10 - 10 do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.
6. Matthew 25:35 - 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
7. Luke 10:36-37 - 6 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
8. Romans 12:13 - 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers.
9. Philippians 3:20 - 20 But our citizenship[a] is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
10. Hebrews 13:2 - 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

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