Epiphany: The Visit Of The Magi
The visit of the Magi, the three Wise Men, and sometimes three Astrologers, however you understand them, their story bears repeating. Having come from far off lands, they followed a bright star and a dream of doing homage to the recently born king, and infant whose presence they felt would change the world forever. They inquired at King Herod’s palace about, “the newborn king of the Jews.” Herod was “greatly troubled” at this news these Gentiles brought. After consulting with all the chief priests and scribes, he told the Magi that they would find the infant in Bethlehem and they should return and tell him where this new king was located so he “too may go and do him homage.”
After presenting their gifts of gold, frankensence and myrrh, they were “warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.” Afterwards Joseph had a dream where an angel told him, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there till I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” (Based on Matthew 2:1-15)
Jesus Was An Immigrant
Have you ever thought about that period of time where the scriptures are silent about Jesus, Mary and Joseph being immigrants? They were aliens in a foreign land. Joseph worked at his trade to support his young family. They were in a country that looked down on Jews as being inferior, former slaves of the country. They kept a low profile trying not to bring undue attention to themselves. They endured the disdain of the citizens of Egypt, as they were outsiders, intruders into a society who didn’t want them there. Does this sound familiar?
Reflection
“You shall treat an alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for him as for yourself; for you were once aliens in the land of Egypt.” (Lev. 19:34 NAB)
God asked the Israelites and us to love the alien as ourselves. Do we do that or do we denigrate them and their presence in our country? When talking about immigrants undocumented or documented we should recall that the dignity of all human beings is paramount in the teaching of our faith. Human dignity is based on the fact that we are all God’s beloved daughters and sons. God loves us with an everlasting love and is constant in his affection for us. So if we come to realize, deep in our hearts, that we are lovable and loved by God, then we will have the sense of the dignity and the worth of every human being on the planet, including our own.
To know one is loved by God is a foundational experience if one is to truly believe in human dignity. It is not enough to tell ourselves that God loves us, we need to feel that love that saw everything, including each human person as good, indeed, very good. It is worth spending time asking God to let us feel his love and listening to him as he speaks to us through the prophet Isaiah, “You are precious in my eyes and I love you.” (Is. 43:4)
Action
In the past decade, more than 2000 people have died crossing the Mexico/US border. The U.S. immigration system is broken. Increased border patrols, more workplace raids and reduced access to public services haven’t stemmed the increasing flow of immigrants. Meanwhile millions of unauthorized workers are vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Still, U.S. companies continue to offer immigrants jobs, and U.S. policies (among many other factors) continue to destabilize the economies of immigrants’ home countries.
Presently there are two bills before Congress, which try to fix this system. The U.S. Bishops support one and they are opposed to the other. The one they and other immigration reform groups support is “The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005 (S.1033, H.R.2330) and the one they and others oppose is the “Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437). To quote Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernardino, CA, the first one “represents a comprehensive and bipartisan approach for migrant workers to enter the U.S. in a safe and orderly manner.” The second one “would bring about serious and severe consequences for immigrants and the nation. It is an extremely punitive bill which is far broader than illegal immigration and, if enacted would unduly harm immigrants and their families, even those who are currently lawful residents.”
We can support human dignity and humane treatment of immigrants by calling, writing, emailing or faxing our Senators and Representative asking them to vote for S.1033 and H.R.2330 as well as asking our Representative to vote against H.R. 4437.
Prayer
O God, we pray for all those in our world
who are suffering from injustice:
For those who are discriminated against
because of their race, color or religion;
For those imprisoned
for working for the relief of oppression;
For those who are hounded
for speaking the inconvenient truth;
For those tempted to violence
as a cry against overwhelming hardship;
For those deprived of reasonable health and education;
For those suffering from hunger and famine;
For those too weak to help themselves
and who have no one else to help them;
For the unemployed who cry out
for work but do not find it.
We pray for anyone of our acquaintance
who is personally affected by injustice.
Forgive us, Lord, if we unwittingly share in the conditions
or in a system that perpetuates injustice.
Show us how we can serve your children
and make your love practical by washing their feet.
By Jo-Ann and Ray Hardwick, sfo, National Peace and Justice Commission Members