ABSTRACT
The perspective that the stranger is to be treated fairly and, when vulnerable, given succour is fundamental to the life and teachings of Jesus and foundational for the life of the church. Jesus does not directly address the situation of the refugee in his teaching. The gospels, however, do provide relevant ethical teaching and practice. In the best tradition of the Hellenistic moralists, Luke's beatitudes are inclined towards the ptochoi, while the woes castigate the rich. The poor man, Lazarus, is carried directly by angels to the consolation of "Abraham's bosom"; the rich man, traditionally known as Dives, is racked with torment in Hades. The distinction between Jew and Samaritan was the mutually exclusive claims of the temples at Jerusalem and Gerizim. For religious and historical reasons, Samaritans and Jews were enemies. Jesus is travelling in the region of Tyre and Sidon, north-west of Galilee and homeland of Israel's historic enemies, the Phoenicians.
