Everyday, the United States of America wakes up and find themselves more and more in the backyard of the world. International interaction is becoming more and more commonplace. Technology makes it possible for an interaction to take place so much more frequently than it could have 100 or even 50 years ago.  Now, all it takes to have an international discussion on current events is typing "cnn.com" into an internet browser.

Not only is the U.S. finding itself in the backyard of the world, it is also finding more and more of the world in its backyard.  Imported goods arrive en masse from places the world over: China, Korea, and India.  But even more than goods, America is once again seeing an influx of a different kind of valuable: immigrants.  Dr. Lindy Scott of Wheaton University wrote:  

an increasing number of North Americans in general […] are having significant contacts with Latin Americans. In the first place, Latinos are one of the most rapidly growing segments of the general population in the United States, already comprising 14% of the total.¹

Besides Latino immigrants, both legal and illegal, other foreigners are coming into the United States.  Issues and concerns arise in the minds of U.S. citizens concerning these new neighbors.  With the economy in a slump, concerns about immigrants and foreigners persist, as fears about jobs, layoffs, and budgets persist.

The question of millions of untraceable immigrants has no apparent answer for the government.  With so many practical dead ends and a lack of viable solutions, a workable approach on such a large scale has yet to be identified.  The government still flounders without an effective resolution to the security risk that undocumented immigrants pose, while still accepting hard-working human beings, who wish to work in America.  For the government of the United States, this issue is a difficult one.  For the Church, however, a parable speaks pointedly to the dilemma.

An expert in the law asked whom he should love—who his neighbor was.  Jesus replied with a story about a man on a journey from the city of Jerusalem to Jericho.  The man “fell into the hands of robbers,” and he lost everything he had and was abused.  A priest and a Levite both passed him by.  “But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.”  The Samaritan then applied some first aid, provided financial support, and took him to a place where he could heal.  “‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’  The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’  Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”²

According to Jesus' teaching, we keep God’s ordinances when we look after the abused and victimized. The Samaritan overlooked the traveler’s ethnicity and took care of the man from Jerusalem.  Allen Culpepper comments on this passage in Luke, saying, “The command to love one’s neighbor (Lev. 19:18) immediately prompted the lawyer’s question which was understood to define the limits of required neighborliness.  Leviticus 19:34, for example requires that an alien should be treated as a citizen: ‘Love the alien as yourself.’”³ The Samaritan’s mercy and neighborly act began with pity and then moved to care and even financial support.  

Two facets of this parable are transferable to the matter of immigrants in the United States.  First, the Samaritan did not see regional, ethnic, or religious reasons to prevent him from helping the man who was in need. The priest and the Levite found plenty of religious reasons to ignore him.  Jesus used the character of the Samaritan to demonstrate that showing compassion for one's neighbor is what matters most.  The Samaritan character is praised, because he disregards local taboos and ethnic barriers.  Christians, when finding an immigrant in need, are directed by this parable to try to meet those needs.  Many immigrants coming to the United States are in need.  Whether legally or illegally, these immigrants are coming to the United States because they need something: food, shelter, or care for their families. Or perhaps they simply desire a new life.  The Church belongs to a God who is able to supply all needs and give new life.

Second, the Samaritan did not succumb to selfish fears in order to protect his own interests, which sadly, is what the priest and the Levite did.  In fact, the Samaritan paid for the beaten man’s stay at a safe inn.  In view of economic concerns, the first reaction of Christians might be to protect their own livelihood and finances.  Christ, without a doubt, points his hearers to the sacrifice of their time, money, and convenience.

Christ compels us to care for whomever we find in need; however, this is easier said than done.  But to help clarify what a local church might do to care for those immigrants nearby who are in need, here are two examples of congregations who are already being neighborly.

The first example is of a group of believers who go into the desert on the border of Mexico.  Reverend Robin Hoover and a group of volunteers are a part of group called Humane Borders.  They build makeshift oases for immigrants making the risky trek across the border to find work.  “[…] on average every day the desert claims two more Mexicans whose bodies never make the news.”⁴  These believers are giving a cup of water to those who are thirsty and in need.

The second example is one of St. Bridget’s in Iowa.  After the government deported thousands of illegal immigrants from Iowa in 2008, St. Bridget’s cared for those left behind, after their loved ones were carried away.  They provided food, shelter, and legal support.  Most churches do not have the funds or access to attorneys, but this is a great way to care for those in need.  Many citizens of the United States, however, are left in chaos, because their family members were not able to obtain visas.  Bringing warm meals to those in our communities who need them is something the Church of the Nazarene has excelled at many times over.  This is a simple way to take care of those immigrants in need, who were able to legally receive a visa but were still affected by the current situation.⁵

Both of these churches are caring for the needy that are coming into their communities.  Their responses are what Jesus would call being a good neighbor.  Being a good neighbor starts with actively caring for those around you through demonstrated acts of compassion.  God is then able to use these actions in amazing ways to glorify Himself.  Let us all give of ourselves and own interests to care for the needy within our communities, whether they were born in the United States or happen to come from another nation.