Word to the Wise
Monday, August 14, 2017 - Monday in the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[Deut 10:12-22 and Matt 17:22-27]"Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked. For the Lord, your God, is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him. So you must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the Land of Egypt." [Deuteronomy]
AUGUST 14 ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE ofm.conv.
It is unusual for someone at a social gathering or even in the Sacrament of Reconciliation to ask me about the subject of immigration! As a political and social issue, it is a very sensitive topic in the State of Texas, where I live. Numerous parishioners in our university parish have relatives who have been caught up in the difficulties that are part and parcel of trying to enter the U.S.A. in search of a better life for themselves and their children since Texas borders on Mexico. The subject of "the Wall" is one of the most politically sensitive issues of the current administration. The words from the Book of Deuteronomy today offer a perspective and starting point that should give us something to think about!
In discussing any "issue" like this I try to get the person or persons who raise the subject with me to tell me what is their "starting point" in the discussion. The word, "alien," has both a legal and moral meaning. Legally, it is anyone who is not a citizen and is present in the USA. Morally, an "alien" is someone "other," not "like us," and very possibly an enemy. Since the term is commonly used to speak of creatures from outer space, the discussion can become heated. Moses calls the attention of the Children of Israel to the fact that THEY were once "aliens." Franklin D. Roosevelt once infuriated a gathering of the Daughters of the American Revolution by beginning his speech with these words, "My fellow immigrants....!" We easily forget that our ancestors were once "aliens" in this land. That may be an uncomfortable "starting point" in this contested issue, but as people of faith, we cannot dismiss God's word. Furthermore, Jesus' blunt statement, "As often as you did it to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me..." should remind us how we should treat those whom we label as "alien" in our land. AMEN
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