Friend of StrangersMuestra

If much of the Bible is about how God's people should treat strangers who come to Israel, there are also instructive texts on how God's people should behave in the event they become refugees. Due in part to the Israelite's lack of hospitality to strangers, God sent them into exile to the enemy nation of Babylon. Once there, God urges Israel to continue to believe in God, to trust in His care, and to continue to live and work for a good future in their new society. God calls Israel to love their enemies and to be a blessing to the new land they find themselves in:

“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Je 29:7)

An interesting detail that does not appear in the English translation of the Bible is in Jeremiah 29:7 - welfare in the Hebrew text is translated as shalom. Shalom is a Hebrew word translated as peace and inner peace. In English, peace means the opposite of war, but the Biblical meaning of shalom implies the absence of enmity and a positive state of prosperity and well-being.

When God calls on the Jews to seek shalom with the Babylonians, He wants the Jews to refrain from hostilities against the Babylonians and actively work for peace and prosperity. A state of peace between Jews and Babylonians will be a blessing for both. One could even translate verse 7 to something like this: “Seek peace with your enemies, for in that peace is your peace.”

Carrying this idea into the present, we can compare it to the idea that a Christian should not only passively refrain from xenophobia, but should also actively be a xenophile (i.e., a friend of strangers). Making peace is more than passively refraining from war - it also means actively working for peace.