On the Run

LECTIO:                                                   Matthew 2:1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod, 
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled, 
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, 
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, 
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly 
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word, 
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, 
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures 
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, 
they departed for their country by another way.

STUDIUM:

Keep in mind, Jesus' bloodline.  As a son of David's line, He is thoroughly Jewish--Herod is not, and thereby a threat.  Also, this Gospel was written after the destruction of the temple.  For Matthew's audience, Jewish Christians, they would know that Jesus was the temple that was resurrected in three days. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19)

But the major character here is Herod and he is shown to be a scheming coward.  He lies to the Magi and orders all males under two to be killed.

Note how it was non-Jews who were among the first to honor Jesus.  God manifest Himself to all nations.

MEDITATIO:

Herod's plotting was for naught.  God's plans trump Satan's.  I have to always remember that.  Herod's plans were foiled but we can see that from the "get/go", Jesus was not welcomed and is going to have a hard time.

ORATIO:

Lord, may I always trust that You are in control.  Your love is for everybody-believers or not.  You came for all.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Lord, I trust in You.  You are God; I am not.

RESOLUTIO:

I must keep reminding myself that God is control.  He knows what He is doing.  Trust Him!

So?

 The latest issue of The Pilot, the Archdiocesan Newspaper of Boston, has an article on immigration, that has me wondering, "So what?".  The article is Critical Points in Immigration History: From restriction to reform and back again, by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.  What I note is this statement: "the problem we are dealing with is a mythical replacement theory -- that the new immigration is a plan to replace the white race in America."  

So, what if the white race is replaced?  Most of us will be dead by the time, if ever, that would happen.  Personally, I see mixed marriages between races.  Again, so?  Maybe it's God's plan.  Then we wouldn't have race problems, would we?  We could then be prejudice against people that are left-handed, or have green eyes, or are bald, or......  I'm sure Satan will think of something else to cause division.

It's all so silly.

Cardinal O'Malley Speaks Out on Immigration Crisis

Migrant families seeking asylum walk from a bus depot to a Catholic Charities humanitarian respite center just after being released from federal detention in McAllen, Texas, July 31. CNS photo/Loren Elliott, Reuters

Cardinal O'Malley speaks out on immigration crisis: BOSTON (CNS) -- In an op-ed published in The Boston Globe Sept. 9, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley called for spirit of "civility and charity" in resolving the question of immigration and said that the country's deep division on the issue has "produced severe human consequences."   Yes, remember this situation involves human lives.  Click on the link to read the rest of this article.

I Remember My Heart Stopping

I remember as a child shopping in Twaites Market.
It had three aisles plus one wider one for vegetables
and fruit, plus all the current week’s top specials.

I remember Mom cashing her pay check on Fridays.
We’d do the week’s shopping then, going up and down
every single aisle, grabbing  and dropping the usual,
in an ever-growing pile in the grocery cart.

Conversation consisted of imperatives:
“Get…No…Reach…No…Enough…Put…Go…”

Distracted seeing some shiny silver shimmering.

She was gone!

“MA!”

“Here.”  She was only in the next aisle, around the corner.

I remember that heart stopping feeling,… still.
The intake of breath, the widening of little eyes,
The scream ready to burst through my body, MAMA.

I remember this feeling as I look through those cages
into pools of terror filled eyes screaming MAMA.
I remember.  What will they remember?        

Home Sweet Home

How do you like that!  Immigration, refugee, and political problems are in Genesis. It's just not today's problems.  I guess we've had them since the beginning of time.

In Chapter 26 of Genesis, Isaac brought his people to Gerar.  The Philistines lived here and Abimelech was their king.  God told Isaac to go there because there was famine in their country.  God blessed Isaac and his people with good crops and plentiful livestock.  Soon the Philistines became envious.  Trouble ensued.

Isaac's wells were stopped up with dirt.  When Isaac complained to King Abimelech he told Isaac to go to Wadi Gerar.  Isaac's father had dug wells there, so Isaac opened them up and used them.  Again the Philistines stopped them up.  The Philistine shepherds argued that the wells were theirs alone.  So Isaac dug up another well.  That too was the source of contention.  The same thing happened again.

Eventually, Abimelech came to Isaac.  The king told Isaac that he could see how blessed he was in God's eyes.  But Isaac and his people had to move on.  Abimelech and Isaac made a peaceful covenant.

Why can't all immigration problems end in a
peaceful covenant?

The Argonauta book club meets this Thursday and I finished our book, early this morning.  Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue is about undocumented immigrants or dreamers. 

The story is about the Jonga family.  Jende lies to get in the country and has a lawyer who has concocted a story about Jende's life will be in danger if he returns home to Cameroon.  Jende works two years before having enough money to send for his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son Liomi.  Neni gets a student visa and also works.

They do work hard and save even harder.  They are not lazy welfare recipients sponging of the system.  Things get better when Jende gets a job as a chauffeur for the Edwards.  Clark Edwards works for Lehman Brothers.  The Edwards family is quite a contrast to the Jongas.  Rich and the poor--the working poor.

But you know what happens to Lehman's.  The brokerage firm goes bankrupt and everyone's life changes. 

Jende loses his job.  Neni has a baby.  Cindy Clark takes to drugs. Vincent Edwards, the oldest son quits law school and goes off to find himself in India, thereby rejecting all that the Edwards have worked for.  It's incomprehensible to the Jongas.  What they dream of and work hard at getting, Vincent has thrown away. 

There are casualties--the children.  The Edwards' youngest son, Mighty witnesses this traumatic change in his family and is helpless to do anything about it.  Liomi's dream of becoming a successful American businessman is threatened.  But the baby, she is a bona fide American and entitled to all that label encompasses.

In the end, Jende can't take the stress of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) breathing down his back, besides the two dishwasher jobs, which are the only type of work he can get, are taking their toll on his health.  He decides to go back to Cameroon.  But Neni, you won't believe the struggle she gives.  First, she wants to divorce Jende for awhile and marry someone else to get that coveted green card, then divorce him to remarry Jende.  Worse, is her idea to give her son away to be adopted by friends, just so he will gain American status.  She really wracks her brain to come up with something, ANYTHING, to stay in America.  She loves New York and digs in her heels.

What to do?

Is that enough tension for you?  Read the novel.  It's a good view of today's immigrants and what they go through and feel.  But don't worry.  It really isn't all that bad.

Human Dignity Not Debatable

       This is a picture of a Rosary held between hands of two protesters during a vigil opposing Arizona's Immigration Law at the state capital, April 24, 2012.  Whenever I hear of the problems of immigration I always send up a prayer of thanksgiving for my "illegal" grandparents.  My maternal grandmother lied about being 18, and my maternal grandmother just walked through the Canadian woods and never turned back. 

    My Lithuanian grandmother became a citizen and only learned enough English to pass the test, and then forgot it.  I remember her signing official documents with an "X".  I don't remember whether or not Mémé was a citizen.  We didn't discuss politics.  

   Hence I enjoyed reading Archbishop Jose Gomez article in the Washington Post.  He thinks Arizona's law is unAmerican, anti-family, and  threaten to remove humanitarian considerations from our immigration system altogether. This would be a tragedy for the individuals subject to these laws, but also for all Americans.

Archbishop Jose Gomez is the Archbishop of Los Angeles and chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Migration.