Old Testament
Leviticus 19:33-34
33 “‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
34 The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born amongst you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
New Testament
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
35 for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in.
36 I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?
38 When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’
40 “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink;
43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’
46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
In Leviticus, the Lord speaks plainly about the stranger in the land. The outsider is not to be pressed down or made to feel the weight of being “not from here”. Israel is commanded to love the sojourner as themselves, remembering their own history of being unwanted and vulnerable.
This is not permission for shallow slogans, nor a demand for performative kindness. It is a summons to recognise a neighbour. In a world of border controls, casework, interviews, delays, and decisions, the Church is invited to keep seeing a face.
Jesus, in Matthew, sets the matter under a brighter light still. In the great reckoning, the King identifies himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the prisoner, and the stranger. “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Mercy is not treated as a hobby for the soft-hearted, but as a test of what we truly believed about him.
Pray today for those newly arrived, bewildered, tired, and afraid. Pray for those who must decide wisely and fairly. And let the Lord ask one quiet question: how would we want this person treated if they were beside us at the Table, receiving the same bread and the same welcome as us?