Immigration and new neighbors

The Christian Science Monitor

I Was raised in a town where there are many immigrants. Growing up, we children played together and shared meals. It came as a surprise when, as a young teenager, I started recognizing that prejudice was felt toward immigrants in my town.

Immigration is a complex issue. And it is also an issue that goes to the heart of a community. It goes to the heart of each one of us, in fact, because it comes down to how we treat our neighbors. Do we feel differently about new people with different traditions and mores than we do about our other neighbors? It takes a broad, open-minded affection to love people who bring new faces and new challenges. Yet the Master, Christ Jesus, seems to say that we are all capable of loving our neighbor.

Jesus placed great importance on the command "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." But we might be wondering how far our love has to extend. Can we get past the unfamiliarity of a different language or culture and come to love all our neighbors?

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