Refugees

Father's day 5 September 2010

Micheal Gilliver and Dan Harding


Rules of having a refugee

1. Well founded fear
*What documentation do we have to obtain?

2. Reasons for race, religion, nationality, membership, particular social group or political opinion
*Crime offended is not counted

3. Unable or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country

We must flee the country to be a refugee
*If you want UN protection, you have to flee

Someone from the other party has to approve whether you are fit to be a refugee
*When you get to another country, where do you go?
*To be assessed is not easy

Total number of refugees- 43.3 million
15.2 million- Legal
983000-Asylum
27.1 million-Internally displaced persons (waiting to get out of the country)

Await Resettlement
385 years to get to the cue of going out of the country
17 years guarenteed to be in a particular place only..job, logging and money is uncertain still

People Smugglers
*Refugees accepted from Indonesia 08-09
Refugees =35 people

*Total awaiting assessment and settlement
Refugees and Asylum seekers= 2878

*Some would bribe and get out instead of waiting 30 years to settle down in another country
*So we should do the right thing to accept all refugees and divide them into groups of 150 so that they would not do the wrong thing to get out

Personal Responsibility
*Trung was a refugee from South Vietnam but now is a pastor for the refugees in Brisbane
*He said we should be grateful to God that provided him everything he needed
*Thus, we should pay taxes because this land saved his life

*The Bible says: Stranger and Alien in the Old Testament
*In Hebrew, it is translated as immigrant or refugee (A non citizen without any rights)
*Thus, it says we should have the personal responsibility to love others
*Deuteronomy 10:17-19: For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.

*He is describing himself and particularly to love the alien, fatherless and the widow
*We should cater for the needy
*The greening laws teaches the people that after plowing the land, do not collect what is left behind but let the fatherless, widows and refugees take
*Pay the refugees well
*God rages the nation when they forget the refugees

*We have social security to take care but in the bible, we are suppose to individually look after the refugees
*Christians has the capacity to take care of the refugees (we are all well affordable)

Broad Responsibility
*Jesus rekindled a lot of laws
*Matthew 22:36-40 (quoting Leviticus 19:18): "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: "' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' All the Law and Prophets hand on these two commandments."

*Luke 10:29-37: But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring an oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him,"
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

*Neighbour-anybody you come across that needs your help whether they are of different ethnicity, background that you cannot get along is your neighbour

Metanarrative - "The BIG story"
*Exile and Return
*Psalm 46: (God is my refuge) God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble.

*The whole point of Jesus is trying to bring us back home
*People may work hard, become sick, die but why are we frustrated with all these?- because we are not home yet?
*We are refugees. If we are lost, God says he is here and will prepare a place for us in heaven.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**