Standing with the Displaced and Vulnerable: Opinion by the Rev. Christine Stoxen

The following article by Rev. Christine Stoxen appeared in The Chandler Arizonan (San Tan Sun) on August 24, 2025. Rev. Stoxen serves of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chandler. AZ.

Welcoming the Stranger Is an Act of Justice and Love

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.” — Isaiah 1:17

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God?” — Micah 6:8

These timeless calls from the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures ring out with urgency and clarity in our world today, especially as communities across Arizona and the nation grapple with the complex issues of immigration and border security. 

And the end of July, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) held a public vigil sponsored by AMMPARO (Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities). The ELCA ministry lifts up our biblical call to accompany the most vulnerable—especially children and families fleeing violence and persecution in Central America and beyond.

The Bible tells many stories of refugees and displaced people. Jesus himself began his life as a refugee, fleeing violence with his parents into Egypt. Ruth, a foreign widow from Moab, is welcomed into the community of Israel and becomes part of the lineage of Jesus. The biblical command to welcome the stranger is not just a suggestion; it is a repeated and central theme of what it means to live faithfully in response to God’s love.

In its social policy resolution “Toward Compassionate, Just, and Humane Immigration Reform,” the ELCA affirms that “hospitality for the uprooted is a way to live out the biblical mandate to love the neighbor in response to God’s love in Jesus Christ.”

The resolution goes on to state that such hospitality “does not only help the vulnerable—it benefits the entire community.” When we make room for those in need, we make our community stronger, more compassionate, and more just.

In Arizona, immigration is more than a national issue—it’s a local reality. From the southern border towns to communities across the state, people of faith encounter immigrants not as distant statistics but as neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and fellow worshipers.

The ELCA, through ministries like AMMPARO and Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)), continues to offer legal aid, housing support, advocacy, and accompaniment to migrants and asylum seekers.

Faith leaders recognize that safety and hospitality are not mutually exclusive; in fact, a secure and just society depends on both.

Isaiah and Micah remind us that our faith is not confined to the sanctuary—it moves into the streets, the voting booths, the courts, and the borderlands. It shows up in how we treat our neighbors and how we advocate for those who have no voice.

To seek justice and love kindness in today’s world means standing with the displaced and the oppressed. It means creating a culture of welcome. It means recognizing that the stranger at our border might be the Christ child fleeing violence.

May our hearts be stirred again by the prophet’s call: Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly with God. And may our actions speak louder than our words in building a community where all are welcomed, and none are forgotten.   

Pastor Chris Stoxen serves Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 739 W. Erie St., Chandler. She received the 2025 Bedenbaugh Award from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary for faithful leadership, ministry and service. 

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