Coming Together

Coming Together

Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

It was the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and Sarah was hosting her third annual Ladies-Only Iftar—an interfaith evening for women to gather together to break the Ramadan fast, with each woman bringing food from her cultural background. I attend the iftar every year, bringing my grandmother’s rhubarb dessert to share, because I believe in the importance of showing up. I leave overflowing in heart and stomach after the nonstop conversation and a culinary cornucopia of dishes passed down from other grandmothers originally rooted in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia whose daughters are now firmly rooted here.

My community has been ripped apart by religious and racial tensions as thousands of refugees have made a home in a land that has been predominantly white and culturally Christian for generations. Race, language, and cultural differences often drive a deep chasm between refugee Muslims and the locals in our community, which used to leave me bewildered about where to even begin with outreach. And yet, I knew that our Savior expects those who follow him to reject such attitudes of tension and fear, choosing to show love instead.

I began praying that God would open doors and bridges into our refugee community in ways that showed respect while also not asking me to hide or minimize my faith. Sarah’s house is one of those bridging places, a space where I am invited as a Christian woman into community with others who are from vastly different places and backgrounds.

Muslim, Jewish, and Christian women gather yearly in Sarah’s suburban house. We laugh as we ask one another’s names yet again even as we make no promises that we’ll be able to remember them next year, and we talk excitedly between mouthfuls about the cultural importance behind the amazing variety of dishes covering the table and every inch of counter space. Friendships are slowly forming in this middle place, a place where fear slides away as we rediscover the humanity of ordinary women under the labels.

God did not give us a spirit of fear, and he explicitly called us to welcome the newcomers and refugees among us. It is possible to be bridge builders without forsaking or hiding our faith, and when we pray for the opportunities, he will swing open the doors.

— Julie

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Ask God to reveal to you the newcomers in your community, especially those from other countries. Pray for bridging opportunities, and then prepare to respond with a yes to those invitations.