Today, we gathered as a community of faith to reflect on what it means to be witnesses of the risen Christ in a world marked by division, fear, and injustice. Using the simple items in a traveler's backpack—a loaf of bread, a map, a bear with a heart, and a passport—we remembered that our journey as disciples is sustained by Christ’s love, guided by his example, and marked by a call to welcome and care for others, especially the stranger. The story of Jesus appearing to his disciples after the resurrection, offering peace and showing his wounds, reminds us that Christ is real, present, and calls us to be his witnesses—not just in word, but in action.
We are challenged to see immigration not as a political issue, but as a deeply spiritual and humanitarian concern. Scripture consistently commands us to welcome the stranger, to love the foreigner as ourselves, and to remember that we, too, are sojourners in this world. The resources we devote to exclusion and enforcement could instead be used to heal, educate, and uplift. Our faith compels us to ask: where is our heart, and how do our actions reflect the love of Christ?
Living as Easter people means we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to act with courage and compassion. We are not alone in this work; the Advocate is with us, and our community is vast, connected, and capable of making a difference. We are called to be informed, to learn the stories of others and our own, to pray, to support one another, and to act—whether through advocacy, hospitality, or simply offering a smile and a welcome. The journey is long and difficult, but we are sustained by the promise that all are welcome in God’s community, and that love, justice, and hope are stronger than fear and exclusion.
Luke 24:36-49 (ESV) — > As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Leviticus 19:33-34 (ESV) — > “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”
Matthew 25:40 (ESV) — > “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
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