The VUSA 2009 Position Paper on Undocumented Immigrants begins with the question:
How should our pastors balance submitting to the government authorities (Romans 13:1) while showing hospitality to foreigners (Leviticus 18:33-34) and seeking justice for the poor, needy and alien (Ezekiel 22:29)?
Awareness of the need to balance submission to authority with hospitality and justice is an excellent starting point as we discern how we should speak and think about immigrants and the process of immigration, and also how we ought to interact with immigrants in our lives outside o the church. However, it stops short of addressing the full issue as it is lived within the church. The author, in acknowledging this shortcoming, uses language which reveals what I believe to be the most pressing issue pertaining to discipleship of undocumented immigrants within our churches. The author states:
We recognize that perspectives within our movement widely vary about how to handle this issue from a public policy perspective. We also recognize that these principles do not address the moral questions regarding undocumented immigration. Some in The Vineyard would regard as immoral the choice to live in the U.S. without documentation. Others would have more sympathy for undocumented immigrants, pointing to the intolerable conditions they are fleeing at great personal risk and to the scant hope of obtaining work visas within a reasonable time frame. It is beyond the scope of this paper to suggest any legislative policy or provide arguments for or against the morality of the situation. (emphasis mine)
Commitment to holiness and obedience is presented at odds with sympathy and mercy. God, on the other hand, does not separate his expectation of holiness from the radical grace he offers. He offers radical grace on the cross because we have fallen short of his expectations, but he continues to call us into a life that meets those expectation.
In my experience, most churches and most individuals swing one way or another. We are holiness people or we are mercy people. It is very difficult for us to enact both sides but that is exactly what God does and what he expects us to do in our own lives and in our discipleship relationships with others. When we encounter someone who has entered the country or remained in our country in a manner that is contrary to our laws, we must not shy away from calling that what it is—it is a moment in which that person broke the law and became our neighbor. We must welcome them with Christ-like love, seeking justice and wholeness in their lives, and also, if the Holy Spirit convicts us that they broke the law in a sinful manner, we must call them out of that sin.
The principles laid out in the position paper do balance mercy with holiness, but it is difficult to apply these principles to a situation we do not understand and that can vary so greatly from person to person. For that reason, we ought to seek to understand the law, current events, and the story of the person in front of us before we decide what attitude or action to take. As we do this, we must remember that the Holy Spirit empowers us with wisdom and understanding beyond our human capacity and will guide us through the confusion and the fear we will feel.
The full paper is attached to this post.
