Theologian Walter Brueggemann describes the stranger as “people without a place.” Asbury professor Christine D. Pohl in her book, Making Room, adds, “to be without a place means to be detached from basic, life-supporting institutions—family, work, polity, religious community, and to be without networks of relations that sustain and support human beings. This is the condition in which homeless people, displaced poor people, refugees and undocumented persons find themselves.”
Questions for Refletion:
- From what networks and institutions do you receive “support”?
- What networks and institutions are you a part of for the support of others?
- What can you do to strengthen these “life-supporting institutions” for those who are refugees, immigrants, homeless, or threatened with displacement.
Tongue on Fire 