All of us come from a history of migration. The historical narrative tends to see all ancient migration as invasion, but, with little more than storytelling to support their view, it appears that most of us wandered here peacefully. Compare the two boatloads of Norman invaders and their unrecorded conquest to the size of the Anglo-Norman population before they landed. We have the remains of 20 Norman abbeys that pre-date Strongbow. Those who built these came to farm, not to fight.
When does the new near-farmer become a neighbour in a new land? If you claim to be a Christian the answer is a simple one, from the day of arrival. Yet, if we read the news of the last three months, it appears that Christian-influenced society remains steadfastly hostile to the outsider.
Outsiders
Jesus was reared in a society that treated outsiders as unclean. Still, he chose an outsider as the hero of tomorrow’s Gospel. The Good Samaritan is probably one of the best-known of Christian stories yet its effect seems barely discernible. Imagine if the Samaritan were a Muslim or a member of the Travelling community. Western pluralism clearly has its limits.
The abiding challenge for the Christian is to challenge these limits and become a genuine pluralist. Jesus was. Born to a background of institutionalised discrimination against women, foreigners, sick people and the underclass, he included them all as neighbours and equals. In doing this be brought the ancient protections for the widow, the orphan and the stranger to a new height. He counted them as no better nor worse than himself. He is the father of true pluralism; a mind that understood that goodness can be found in the stranger as easily as badness can be found among our own.
It is easy to dismiss a challenge by saying that it is not easy to face it. That gets us nowhere. Given that our race naturally doubles every 100 to 120 years, we can expect a lot more neighbours in the future. Easy or not, it is reality.
Like the Celts, Saxons and Normans before them, many will come to live on this fair isle. It is no different from the way that we came here a longer time ago or how we went ourselves to live among the strangers.
There can be great joy and learning in the company of strangers. Our expanding tastes in travel betray our deep fascination for other ways, foods and stories. The encounter with the stranger can be as rewarding as the encounter of a wounded man with a kindly Samaritan. In most cases, our encounters with foreigners are far less dramatic. We have more chance of sharing a meal or a song with a foreigner than we have of being delivered to A&E at his or her hand. It might even reveal the pleasant fact that a stranger can enjoy coddle as much as we enjoy their stews.
The outsider meets us as much as we meet him or her. And just as we can form opinions, both good and bad, the other person is also fully human. The outsider can form opinions of how good or bad we are too. Daring to enter the encounter without prejudice or stereotype can open your world to rich experience and variety. It is not a risky act. There are infinitely more good Samaritans than there are bad ones. You can substitute the word Samaritan in that with the human classification of your choice. It will still be true.