The Good News

I had the great opportunity last week to visit a friend while I was on holiday in Rome. She has been traveling throughout Europe this summer learning about diverse cultures and volunteering with different organizations. We had dinner during the week and she brought up something that I've been pondering over. She has been volunteering with a lot of organizations that give aid to refugees living throughout Europe from war-torn countries. In Rome specifically, there is a large population of Afghanistan refugees. These men and women flee their country for a variety of reasons but the majority deal with the Taliban. They have either been fighting since they were young or they were being pursued or threatened to join forces with the Taliban. They have to leave everything behind. I had a similar conversation with my friend Mohammad that I met here in Greece. But my friend has really been struggling with her role as a Christian. If we are called to share the Good News, what really is the Good News for those who have nothing and can't get anywhere. These men and women are trapped. They are living in countries illegally with very little chance of becoming legal. Mohammad has been in Greece 3 years trying to get documents. He is still waiting and will likely have to continue to do so. He can't leave the country without getting deported back to Afghanistan and he can't get caught living in Greece without getting deported. To tell him or another Afghani the Good News that Christ died doesn't seem to have the same meaning or significance. I deal with this often in Durham. Going to Open Table every week and eating with the homeless guys, what is it doing? What is the Good News for them? They have needs. They have daily physical needs that do not get met. they have daily mental needs that do not get met. What is the Good News? For the Afghani people, it is even harder. If an Afghani becomes a Christian, they risk being completely ostracized. Everyone else is Muslim. If someone becomes a Christian they will be rejected from the only community that they have, the other refugees. There is no easy answer.