Old Testament
Exodus 23:9
9 “You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Common Good
Justice at the Border
Scripture References
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Ephesians 2:11-22
11 Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision” (in the flesh, made by hands),
12 that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.
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14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace,
16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility through it.
17 He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near.
18 For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God,
20 being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;
21 in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord;
22 in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
Thought for the Day
Exodus places justice and borders in the same breath. Do not pervert justice; do not take a bribe that blinds; do not condemn the innocent; and do not oppress a sojourner, for you know the heart of the stranger. It is a cluster of commands, and the thread running through them is restraint: power held under God for the sake of the vulnerable.
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Paul writes to a divided church and says something astonishing: in Christ, those who were far off have been brought near. The dividing wall is broken. Hostility is killed. Strangers become fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. The gospel does not erase difference, but it refuses contempt.
So we pray for justice at borders and in immigration systems: for honest processes, for protection from abuse, for wisdom with security, and for safeguards against dehumanising haste. We pray for officers and caseworkers who must make difficult decisions, and for migrants who carry fear in their bodies.
Lord, make your people peaceable without being soft on truth. Teach us to seek a common life where strangers are treated with dignity, and where justice is not measured by harshness. And in Christ, make us one household, so that our public imagination is schooled by mercy.
Prayer Points
Respond- Lord, protect the sojourner from oppression; let truth and mercy shape border processes
- Give wisdom to officers and administrators; keep them humane, careful, and accountable
- Guard migrants from exploitation and abuse; provide advocates, translators, and safe support
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- Heal hostility between groups; let Christ’s peace kill contempt and train us in neighbour-love
- Give the Church courage to welcome and to speak truthfully; avoiding both naivety and hardness
- Teach us to remember our own vulnerability; and to treat the stranger with dignity