Refugees: Exclusion or embrace?

At the heart of the cross is Christ's stance of not letting the other remain an enemy and of creating space in himself for the offender to come in......“While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son,”  (Romans 5: 10). The cross is the giving up of God's self in order not to give up on humanity; it is the consequence of God's desire to break the power of human enmity without violence and receive human beings into divine communion. The goal of the cross is the dwelling of human beings “in the Spirit,” “in Christ,” and “in God.” Forgiveness is therefore not the culmination of Christ's relation to the offending other; it is a passage leading to embrace. The arms of the crucified are open— a sign of a space in God's self and an invitation for the enemy to come in. As an expression of the will to embrace the enemy.

Volf, Miroslav. Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (p. 126). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition

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This autumn we spent two weeks walking along the route of the via Ignatia from Thessaloniki to Alexandropolis. It is an ancient route built by the Romans linking Rome with Constantinople.
The superb roads built by the Romans where the means by which the Romans conquered and kept subdued the majority of the known world. Over the years the route has seen armies march , St Paul took the Christian message from Neapolis ( modern Kavalla ) to Thessalonica passing through Phillipi   and Amphipolis on the way. Along it armies of the crusaders going East and the Ottoman Turks going west as they invaded Europe. It has been an important trade route and of late has seen rag tag groups of refugees going west hoping to find safety, homes and employment in Europe.
We met various groups of refugees along the way. It was very heart rending listening to some of the stories these people had gone through. We hear the stories of refugees being cast out to sea in open boats in the media , however they take another dimension when told by a young teenager who has lost family and friends and is alone cast up upon a foreign shore, totally unsupported and alone.

  

We were particularly impressed by a group in Kilkis a little town north of Thessalonica near the Macedonian border which was suddenly closed producing a sudden "pile up" of refugees in camps with appalling conditions near the border. The citizens went in to help even inviting them into their own homes. They soon formed a charity Omes.gr which housed them in empty flats in the town providing education, social and legal support. they were even given the contract to carry on this work by the UNHCR .

On another occasion we met some refugees on a beach near Kavala again we heard many sad stories, one of our group played the oud a instrument of the middle east and sang some of the songs they knew from home, which they loved as they joined in to these songs from home.

We were able to deliver a van load of nappies and sanitary requisites which our group were able to purchase.   

So how should we respond to the stranger and refugee the bible is very clear: Isaiah 58:7-7 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke,to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house;when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

In this country we see strangers foreigners and refugees as a threat.

We see them as the enemy, the "other", rather than potential friends.

As Christians we remember that: while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son Romans 5.  Therefore we are given a message of reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5.

As Christians we must speak out against xenophobia and look for ways to love and practically help all those of whom we become aware who are marginalised and suffering.

One of the charities we saw working on the ground was Help Refugees. Get involved choose love.