Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you. Leviticus 25:35
“The duty here enjoined, is giving to the poor. “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: — Thou shalt surely give him.” Here by thy poor brother is to be understood the same as in other places is meant by neighbor. It is explained in Lev. 25:35 to mean not only those of their own nation, but even strangers and sojourners. “And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner.” The Pharisees indeed interpreted it to signify only one of their own nation. But Christ condemns this interpretation, Luke 10:29, etc. and teaches, in contradiction to their opinion, that the rules of charity, in the law of Moses, are to be extended to the Samaritans, who were not of their nation, and between whom and the Jews there was the most bitter enmity, and who were a people very troublesome to the Jews.”
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) in Christian Charity (1732).
At the Global Generosity Forum, I got a copy of this little book, and It’s fantastic.
In the opening part of his argument, we find these words, reminding Christians to show charity toward others in difficult conditions. And he brings out the categories of strangers, sojourners, and Samaritans.
We could easily smile and nod and act as though our lives comply readily with this injunction. But do we?
Strangers represent people unknown to us. They might be different or may be like us. We tend to avoid these people because of our fear of the unknown.
Sojourners tend to come from different places. They often wear different clothes and follow cultural patterns that may be unfamiliar to us. We tend to flock with more familiar people.
Samaritans represent people with more than diverse background from us, but a people with whom we have history of racial strife. We often judge or label these people based on collective or past sins.
So now, I ask again. Do we show charity to Strangers, Sojourners, and Samaritans? Who might these people be today in our settings? As I work with people of different cultures, I find it hard sometimes.
But when we follow the biblical pattern of Jesus, we not only move out of our comfort zone, we find blessing. I am so thankful to work with people who are not like me to learn and grow together.