Perspectief 2017-36

Perspectief 28 Werk van jonge theologen While Balch studies migration in light of the New Testament, the Chicago bishop Wayne Miller focuses on the calls for hospitality to the stranger issued in the Old Testament, arguing that the notion of being a welcoming people is not a durable approach to immigration in today’s world 93 . His first claim is that in today’s North American society hospitality is increasingly thought of as a mere form of politeness. This is not unproblematic: since – according to Miller – good manners have eroded and become optional rather than self-evident, welcoming the stranger too is no longer regarded as necessary. Thus the morally imperative character of hospitality is forgotten and the Biblical mandate of a warm welcome has lost its authority. 94 Secondly, Miller observes that the notion of hospitality emphasises the virtuous generosity of the helping party rather than the inherent dignity of the stranger. Framing hospitality in such a manner perpetuates feelings of superiority on the part of the host. 95 Miller then builds upon Luther’s theology of the cross to help develop a particularly Christian attitude towards immigrants, noting that the way Christians treat strangers is “a matter of primary confessional theology rather than being a question of elective etiquette” 96 . Stating, like Luther, that Christ’s act of redemption on the cross, as a free gift of grace, should be the basis of all Christian theology, Miller points out that at the moment of Christ’s death “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” 9798 . The purpose of this curtain had been to separate the holy from the unholy and the privileged from the unprivileged; as a result of its ripping apart God’s grace was no longer accessible only to a select few, but to everyone. Each human being now has the freedom to pursue holiness, that is, the vocation that God has designed for each individual. This freedom may not be hindered by human structures of sin, for example by unreasonably strict immigration laws for migrants and refugees, or dehumanising detention measures. In some American states immigration law has even come to resemble persecution, says 93 Miller, W. (2013) Beyond hospitality Journal of Lutheran Ethics 13-8, §5. 94 ibid. 4. 95 ibid. 5. 96 ibid. 6. 97 ibid. 7. 98 Mark 15:38, ESV.