Matthew 2:13

Why add my voice to the already overly saturated field of widespread opinions? Because for me, the topic of Syria, and refugees in general seems so personal to me. For several years I’ve felt connected to the events in Syria-even mentioning to my friend Tiffany a few years back how much I’d love to adopt a Syrian child. I remember over a year ago hearing about the Syrian orphans crossing into Jordan, most of them unaccompanied children under the age of five. Then there was the gut-wrenching story and picture of the three year old little boy whose body washed ashore after he drowned while fleeing with his family.
I stared at his little body for I don’t know how long, tears streaming down my face, thinking about Remi.


And then November 13, 2015 came, and with it grief, confusion, and anger. As Americans, the memories of 9/11 are still too visceral. We are all too familiar with terror and have every right to want to protect our country.


I don’t claim to have the right to speak for Christians as a whole. As a progressive, liberal individual, I am quite aware of the vast distance between my current rather all-encompassing beliefs, and the more traditional views that exist. I do believe though, I can boldly speak as a person who loves Jesus and seeks to live their life with a higher-purpose.


It doesn’t take much surface scratching to remove the infinitesimally small veneer that separates our American view of a middle-class white Jesus, from the historical man who actually lived. How easily we forget He was from the Middle East and escaped from Herod as a boy into Egypt, resulting in the slaughter of all males under the age of two in and around Bethlehem. Syria is mentioned eight times in the New Testament (yes, I looked that up, and yes, borders during that time were not the same as today), whereas The United States of America is, very obvious reasons, absent. If we indulge in the overly trivialized game of WWJD?, and were honest with ourselves, I think we would reach the conclusion an anachronistic Jesus would be heavily invested in the matters of this war-torn part of the world. And indeed, he would not be living in the American Bible Belt, preaching in a mega-church and driving a Lexus (though I do picture Him in a pair of custom-painted Noah’s Ark Toms, you know one animal on each shoe).


So how do my fellow Jesus lovers rectify their keep-out-all-refugees-and-their-problems mindset with the actual teaching and life of the aforementioned? I don’t know. Well, I do-their reasoning falls into the realm of national security, not in my neighborhood, hegemonic views (anyone else invoking the image of Peter Griffin and his lemonade stand antics here?) But beyond that I’m at a loss, and surely by now you’ve seen enough of the “12 Bible-verses that show Jesus would absolutely have not acted like you fools” posts.

I’ve also seen the analogy posts going around: “I have a bowl of 10,100 M&Ms and 10 are poisoned. Go ahead liberals, eat one.” No thanks, they’re not vegan, but do you want to talk about the hormones in your milk? Or the, “A biker gang comes into your neighborhood, do you lock your front door” one. Ummm, I don’t know-are they the scary ones that cause shootings in euphemistically named chain restaurants, or the awesome ones that accompany abused children to their court proceedings when they have to confront their parents?

I’ve researched the status quo vetting process for refugees coming into America, and realize it would absolutely not be the way a terrorist would want to come into our country, when many other less intrusive means exist (had an iris scan lately?). I also would like to invoke the names of Timothy McVeigh, Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, and Jim David Adkisson as a reminder that evil has many colors and nationalities.


I would also quote here the inscriptions from the Statue of Liberty, but as that is rather predictable at this moment, I will instead issue a reminder that it is the backside of the Statue of Liberty that faces New York (mostly). It would also be apropos to mention Thanksgiving, migrants, (STDs, pillaging, murder) here, but why spoil those cute badly-colored pictures of the Pilgrims and Indians all of our kid’s brought home this week that are now proudly displayed on our refrigerators!


It’s tough to examine our own bias. And undoubtedly, everything here is shaded by my rosy let's-help-everyone-and-save-the-planet, worldview. But it’s also written from my conscience out of a response to the very real tears I shed at night in the moments before falling asleep, when I ask God to forgive us for our callousness and to open our eyes to the love He has for all of us. And I am reminded that His son loved those scary-people over there, and so should I.