Lent 2026 Guide-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 24
Week 6
Thursday, March 26 – Wednesday, April 1
Devotion 1
Inspiration
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.
The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.
Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord
your God. – Leviticus 19:33-34
Reflection
I find this passage to be as relevant to the situation in our land today as it was to
the ancient Israelites! While our nation has flourished from the contributions
of immigrants and refugees, American history is replete with instances of
cruelty and violence towards foreigners (such as in the demonization of
Chinese workers and immigrants during the late 1800's). Today we are
again living at a time when cruelty and violence towards immigrants and
refugees has become public policy. Since the beginning of the second Trump
administration, we have been bombarded by credible news reports detailing
the horrific mistreatment of suspected undocumented people. Among other
actions, ICE and border patrol agents have abducted people off the streets
or (in an incident that took place in Minneapolis last December) dragged
a pregnant woman through the street while attempting to get her into an
ICE vehicle! (And the shocking shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis
on January 7 vividly illustrates that one does not have to be an immigrant
or refugee to become a victim of ICE violence!) Amnesty International has
documented cases of torture and enforced disappearances at the "Alligator
Alcatraz" and Krone detention centers in Florida, while Human Rights Watch
has documented cases of the beatings and torture of immigrants unjustly
deported to the CECOT facility in El Salvador. As our Bible passage from
the book of Leviticus powerfully affirms, the mistreatment of the foreigner
is ultimately an offense against God and God's intentions for humankind!
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