Art Reading Scripture

The Emigrants, Knut Ekwall (1880-1912) American Swedish Institute Minneapolis

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien, for the famine was severe in the land. Genesis 12:10

You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. Exodus 22:21

I do not know the story of my grandparents emigration and immigration from Germany and Sweden to the United States. I do know a story of my great uncle Victor who I think eventually settled in Bismarck, ND. In 1912 he returned to Sweden from Boston to visit his family. He booked passage on the Titanic for a return journey that spring. However, in Sweden he heard about the Stockholm Summer Olympics and decided to stay through the summer to see them. I often wonder what he thought when he eventually heard how that decision saved and changed his life. His children and grandchildren certainly benefitted from his change of plans.

The description of this painting reads, "Swan and Christina Turnblad were part of a mass movement of Swedish immigrants to America. Between 1850 and 1930, approximately 1.3 million Swedes moved to America. This painting depicts the experience they were willing to go through to move to an unknown land. Prior to steamboats in the 1880's, the journey could take seven weeks on a crowded sailboat. Take a close look at this painting - what details do you notice about such a journey?" My grandparents who settled in Kennedy, MN were certainly a part of that migration of people. 1.3 million Swedes were not the only ones who left home to arrive here. Millions came from Ireland to escape the potato famine and political persecution from Britain. The ships they came over on became known as "death ships" as most people, hungry and starving already did not survive the journey. People came from Italy, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and many other places, just showing up and seeking a new and better life. They are our ancestors. They were well received. Many of us, most of us are their legacy.

The word immigrant or immigration does not appear in the Bible. Rather the word "alien" is used describe those who came from other places to live in the land of Israel. Immigration from one place to another is as old as humanity. Originally our most ancient ancestors immigrated out of Africa to the places we call Europe, Asia and the Americas. What the Bible does say about aliens, immigrants, and the way they should be treated in the places to which they went is absolutely clear. "You shall not wrong or oppress them..." because at one time you lived in a foreign land where you were oppressed and wronged. You will not treat others as you were treated. Sabbath laws of rest from labor applied to the aliens who lived in Israel because Israel remembered what it was to be slaves in Egypt without ever a time to rest. Aliens were expected to obey the laws of Israel. Many studies of American aliens/immigrants show that immigrants are actually more law abiding than typical American citizens because they know the consequences of violating the law which will return them to where they came from or worse. Immigrants are also hard working and deeply grateful for the opportunity, peace and freedom we value, just as were our ancestors who came with the same hopes and dreams. "The alien who resides with you shall be as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the Land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:34 "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 23:22 The immigrant aliens of Israel were to enjoy and participate in the prosperity of the people of God. One could go on and on through the Psalms and the Prophets and find this command of LORD to the people of God. "Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place." Jeremiah 22:3 As these are "Thus says the LORD" and "I am the LORD your God" sayings, they cannot be easily dismissed or ignored.

The description of the painting asks the viewer to "Take a close look at this painting - what details do you notice about such a journey?" This was the experience of our great grandparents. The Bible asks us to connect Israel's experience with Israel's responsibility. The Bible asks the people of God to remember where they came from as they meet the people who come to them. We can look at the painting, Emigrants, by Knut Ekwall. We can take a closer look and listen to the stories of those who continue to come from places of hunger, oppression, fear, and poverty and of the torturous journeys they have made solely on the basis of hope. We can also remember Lady Liberty who greeted our ancestors. "... cries she with silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer