Who Is the Alien?

We were the alien, we were the outcast

Captive in Egypt our parents were slaves.

We knew the anguish, and then the deliverance

Freed by our Maker, whose mighty hand saves.

Who is the alien? Who is the outcast?

Who is the hungry one barred from the feast?

Who is the widow, the slave, and the orphan?

These are our neighbors, the last and the least.

Different in practice, and patterns of loving

Partnered in ways that seem strange to our own,

These are the outcasts we bar from the table

Failing to witness the grace we were shown.

Who is the alien? Who is the outcast?

Who is the hungry one barred from the feast?

Who is the widow, the slave, and the orphan?

These are our neighbors, the last and the least.

Women and others our labels belittle

People whose bodies bear limits of skill,

These are the outcasts, whose gifts we discourage

Closing our hearts to God's open-armed will.

Who is the alien? Who is the outcast?

Who is the hungry one barred from the feast?

Who is the widow, the slave, and the orphan?

These are our neighbors, the last and the least.

Christ is the outcast who calls to the table

Streching his arms from the Cross to enfold

Sisters and brothers, alike in God's image,

Breaking his body to make us all whole.

Who is the alien? Who is the outcast?

Who is the hungry one barred from the feast?

Who is the widow, the slave, and the orphan?

These are our neighbors, the last and the least.

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Lyrics submitted by Joe Donahue.