SAMIRA
IZADI PAGE
Who Is My
Neighbor?
Copyright © 2019 by Samira Izadi Page
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United StatesA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Church Publishing
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New York, NY 10016
Cover design by Jennifer Kopec, 2 Pug Design
Typeset by Denise Hoff
A record of this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN-13: 9781640652149 (pbk.)
ISBN-13: 9781640652156 (ebook)
Printed in Canada
Contents
Conclusion
Notes
When I was asked to write on the topic of “Who Is My Neighbor?”, I was humbled by the offer and intrigued by the question. On the surface, it is a simple question. With careful consideration, it becomes a profound question with enormous consequences for each of us personally and for our world in general.
Depending on our cultural backgrounds, political persuasions, social settings, and religious frameworks, the question “Who is my neighbor?” can evoke a range of opinions and principles. Someone raised and living on a farm in an interior state in America has a far different view of neighbor than someone who lives in a high-rise apartment building in New York City. A well-traveled person is much more likely to welcome a new neighbor than a closed family who has limited interaction with people outside of their clan.
Whatever the influences, the answer to the question can be as varied as the people you ask. Some define neighbor as the person or family on either side of their home. Others may consider a neighbor as anyone in their suburban housing development. Still others may identify a neighbor through selective criteria such as age, interest, or ethnicity. There are also those for whom the question of neighbor has been given little to no attention at all.
Our world has been fundamentally changed by technological advances. Places and people once far away are brought close through the internet, social media, and e-mail. YouTube has caused broadcasters to re-strategize their programming and distribution services because the youngest generation of adults consume media in a completely different way than their parents. The grossly expensive international phone call has been replaced by a free video app on a smart phone. Most major cities across the world are now saturated with flight options; people can connect around the world with a few clicks on a website. And yet, the largest contributor to the question “Who is my neighbor?” is the massive migration of people.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, war, persecution, economic collapse, famine, political unrest, and natural disasters have combined to force more than 68.5 million people to flee their homes. It is the largest migration in human history. Whether it is refugees fleeing war zones, persecuted Christians seeking safety, or asylum seekers who have escaped political unrest, our neighborhoods are changing. And, with each new family we are forced to consider the question that is as old as the very first family: “Who is my neighbor?”
Since we live in a time marked by the largest migration of people, the question becomes, “How will the Church respond?” Put another way, “What does our God call us to do?” The time to respond is now and it is limited, both because of our available years of ministry service as well as the season of opportunity. This is the time for the Church to engage, with greater clarity and conviction than ever, those whom God is appointing as our neighbors. From tiny rural congregations to metroplexes saturated with megachurches, Christians must pray what the Psalmist prayed in Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” No other organization, individual, or system of beliefs has been so uniquely called and equipped by God to answer in practical and spiritual ways, “Who is my neighbor?”
In Genesis 4:9, Cain asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” With that one question, Cain revealed a thousand words about his sinful heart. His cavalier manner has followed humanity through the ages and is with us today. Every time a Christian demonstrates apathy or disregards the sufferings of a neighbor whom God has placed within their ability to help, they point back to Cain’s sarcastic question.
I am a former refugee who mobilizes churches to serve refugees. I also serve a refugee and immigrant congregation. I write on this topic from my own experiences and the experiences of people I serve—American-born Americans as well as refugees and immigrants. As a theologian, ministry leader, and someone whose life has been forever impacted by neighborliness, I know firsthand the importance of clarity in answering the question “Who is my neighbor?”
A lack of Biblical understanding about immigrants and refugees has turned simple discussions into intense debates, divided families, determined political elections, and led to the polarization of several Western nations, including America. Without a Biblical foundation to the question of what it means to be a neighbor, refugees suffer in camps or find themselves alone trying to eke out a living, even in the richest nation in history.
The terms immigrant and refugee have almost become dirty words in the public sector. My husband and I have a few Facebook friends who privately encourage us in ministering to refugees, but never comment or like anything we post related to the families we serve. The most docile personalities can be stirred to a fever pitch when pulled into political discussions about refugees and immigrants. However, long before immigrants and refugees became a political hot potato, the Sovereign of the universe had preordained where they would live and the lengths of time they would live there as seen in Acts 17:26–28:
From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would
