Daily Scripture: Exodus 22:20(21) “You must neither wrong nor oppress a foreigner living among you, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
23:(v) 6 “Do not deny anyone justice in his lawsuit simply because he is poor. 7 Keep away from fraud, and do not cause the death of the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked. 8 You are not to receive a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clearsighted and subverts the cause of the righteous.
9 “You are not to oppress a foreigner, for you know how a foreigner feels, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Reflection QuestionsThe Israelite law didn’t deal just with the behaviors of fairness to the poor and helpless, including immigrants. It also directed the people toward a basic motivation for being fair. Even when they lived in the Promised Land, they should remember that they had not always been in that relatively powerful position. The fact that they had been oppressed immigrants in Egypt was always to encourage empathy in how they treated others.
- Do an inventory of your personal history. Have you always felt relatively safe, well off, and comfortable with your place in the world? What have been the hardest, most vulnerable times (financially, emotionally or physically) you have lived through? How does your life experience affect the ways you think about others who are facing hardships?
- Even with the dangers we hear about in the news, the United States is quite clearly the most powerful nation on earth. But many of the country’s first settlers were people fleeing persecution or oppression. In the late 1800’s, poet Emma Lazarus, herself a descendant of Sephardic Jewish immigrants, expressed the meaning of the Statue of Liberty, writing: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”* What value might it have for us, like Israel, to remember our origins as we choose ways to use our strength in dealing with other nations, and with people fleeing poverty or persecution?
O God, I find it challenging that you didn’t tell Israel, “Once you get strong, forget all about the bad times.” Grow in me a capacity for empathy, as I remember the common humanity all your children share. Amen.
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Insights from Dr. Amy Oden
Dr. Amy Oden is Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality at Saint Paul School of Theology at OCU. Teaching is her calling, and she looks forward to every day with students. For 25 years, Amy has taught theology and history, pursuing scholarship in service of the church.The GPS for today asks you to think of a time in your life that was vulnerable or difficult.
“You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). In this scripture, “resident aliens” refers to foreigners who were living among the Israelites–in their midst, but as outsiders. When did you feel like an outsider? Maybe you were traveling abroad and couldn’t speak the language. Maybe you were the only person of your race in a group. Maybe you were new at work or at school. Recall that experience right now, and see what feelings or sensations arise in you. Anxiety? Loneliness? Frustration? Excitement?
Most of us can immediately get in touch with the feeling of being the stranger. Where do you feel it in your body? In the pit of your stomach? Maybe a tightening in your chest or throat? A tension in your shoulders? Or maybe an overall feeling of nerves? Our bodies carry these memories viscerally and help us understand God’s concern in this scripture about outsiders.
In fact, the experience of being the stranger is almost universal. Everyone has felt like an outsider at some moment in life. The Bible tells us to remember this experience, because it’s crucial to a faithful life.
The act of remembering helps us to see God at work. Otherwise, we are prone to think we have created our own lives and to credit ourselves for everything we have. We are prone to forget God. Let the physical sensations in your body help you remember God. Lean into this body prayer–whatever you experience–and let it help you remember God.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
“You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). In this scripture, “resident aliens” refers to foreigners who were living among the Israelites–in their midst, but as outsiders. When did you feel like an outsider? Maybe you were traveling abroad and couldn’t speak the language. Maybe you were the only person of your race in a group. Maybe you were new at work or at school. Recall that experience right now, and see what feelings or sensations arise in you. Anxiety? Loneliness? Frustration? Excitement?
Most of us can immediately get in touch with the feeling of being the stranger. Where do you feel it in your body? In the pit of your stomach? Maybe a tightening in your chest or throat? A tension in your shoulders? Or maybe an overall feeling of nerves? Our bodies carry these memories viscerally and help us understand God’s concern in this scripture about outsiders.
In fact, the experience of being the stranger is almost universal. Everyone has felt like an outsider at some moment in life. The Bible tells us to remember this experience, because it’s crucial to a faithful life.
The act of remembering helps us to see God at work. Otherwise, we are prone to think we have created our own lives and to credit ourselves for everything we have. We are prone to forget God. Let the physical sensations in your body help you remember God. Lean into this body prayer–whatever you experience–and let it help you remember God.
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Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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