Remember, We Were Brothers

But Edom said to him, "You shall not pass through or we will come out with the sword against you." Numbers 20:18

Remember! We Were Brothers!
By Rev. William Dohle

Can you imagine taking everything you own that you can carry on your back, cramming it in a suitcase or some other item, and dragging it across hundreds and hundreds of miles? Can you imagine being pursued by a government that wishes to kill you? Knowing that if you stayed where you were that you would likely be put to death? Can you imagine what its like to trust the ocean more than you trust your homeland?

The people of Israel could. They knew what this was like. For years they had been wandering the desert of Sinai, searching for their Promised Land. They had left a land where they were in slavery, where they spent their time making mud bricks. They left that for freedom...or so they thought.

And now they were at the edge of the Promised Land. Just one more land to pass through before they reached their destination, before safety, security, and a land flowing with milk and honey. Just one more land called Edom.

They were pretty confident that the Edomites would welcome them, or at least let them pass through. After all, the Edomites were Israel's brothers! They were descended from Esau. "These are the descendants of Esau)(that is Edom)"(Genesis 36:1). Surely they would see that Israel was their brother!

And so Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom saying:

"Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the adversity that has befallen us: how our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians oppressed us and our ancestors; and when we cried to the LORD he heard our voice, and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt; and here we are in Kadesh...Now let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from any well; we will go along the King's Highway, not turning aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory. (Num. 20:14-17)

Surely, Moses thought, they will help them across their land. Even if they won't help us, surely they will allow them to pass through!

But Edom refuses. "You shall not pass through, or we will come out with the sword against you."(Num. 20:18)

But help was not to come. Edom refused. And Israel had to go around the land of Edom to finally reach the Promised Land.

We too are faced with a refugee crisis in our day. Not since World War II have so many people been displaced. And those who stand at the borders, like Israel, ask for safety. They ask for security. They ask for compassion and hospitality. They ask for brotherhood.

And yet, sadly, more and more, we see us like the Edomites turning them away, from our borders and from our hearts. Maybe we think they're dangerous. Maybe we fear the terrorist in their midst. Maybe we don't understand that fundamentally, we are brothers as Edom and Israel were, and turning them away is turning away a member of our own family. Whatever our thoughts, we are turning them away from us in droves.

Perhaps we ourselves have never been refugees, have never been aliens, and so we can't relate. The experience of rejection from Edom sure changes Israel in a dramatic way. From this moment on, the commandment repeated more times in the Torah becomes "Do not oppress the alien, for you yourselves were aliens." The experience of being a refugee, an alien, has profound effect on Israel.

Maybe instead of worrying about our own safety, we should obey THIS commandment! Instead of worrying about our own resources and becoming hoarders of our stuff, maybe we should think about how we would wish to be treated if we were in their position. If we were Israel, how we would have wished others had treated us...and how we should we treat them knowing they are our brothers.

Or maybe, just maybe, if we are Christians, we should think about how Christ would want us to treat them if he were among them. Because, like it or not Christians, Christ is there, among the refugees, begging for safe passage in and through our land among the least of these our brothers. A homeless, wandering Jew, a nobody in the land of somebodies, an instigator of a quiet revolution. Whatever should we do with a guy like him at our borders?

Compassionate God, help us trust in your goodness. Give us grace to reach out beyond our borders and assist and welcome those in need. Amen.