June 20th is World Refugee Day. It has been my privilege to meet, teach, befriend, and share the love of Jesus with refugees from around the world living in my city. My city has thousands of refugees living here. Some come from war torn places such as Ukraine. Some come because of religious persecution.. Some come because their government is trying to kill them such as The Karen People of Burma.
As I interact with refugees, I often think about the fact that Jesus experienced being a refugee while on earth. In Matthew chapter 2 we read:
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
King Herod felt threatened by a baby being born to become king of the Jews, so he ordered his troops to go into Bethlehem to kill every male child two years old and younger. Joseph being warned by the angel, took Jesus and Mary and fled to Egypt where they lived until Herod died.
Fleeing to avoid being killed by your government means one is a refugee. Jesus experienced life as a refugee during his earthly childhood.
I also often think of the Mother Teresa quote as I interact with refugees, ““I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.”
I teach, befriend, and share the love of Jesus with refugees because I love Jesus, I love my refugee friends, and I see Jesus in my refugee friends.
Thank you for reading. God Bless.
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