“Can a mother forget
her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget
you. See, upon the palms of my hands I
have written your name.” Isaiah 49:15-16
“Are not five sparrows
sold for a few pennies? Yet not one of
them is neglected by God. In very truth,
even the hairs of your head are counted!
Fear nothing, then. You are worth
more than a flock of sparrows.” Luke
12:6-7
I could have …
been born among
Tutsis in Rwanda and orphaned at the hands of the Hutus and their machetes....
lived in a
sod hut with clay floor among a Columbian family who loved me very much. They stripped the limbs of coca plants to
supply cocaine to wealthy countries who drove the demand ...
watched my younger
sister terrified of the ocean sink below waves to drown off the coast of Libya after
our overcrowded boat capsized ...
been a Venezuelan
farmer, a father of four children whose successful farm was seized by rebels
while my livestock was senselessly slaughtered, carcasses left to rot, invite
disease ...
received my
Guatemalan family’s life savings to buy the services of a coyote to smuggle me alone
in unsanitary, stagnant box cars into the U.S. in hopes of a college education
…
lived
without food and sanitary water since foreign high tech had automated
manufacturing displacing my parents from jobs in my home community already
stressed from low wages, no medical, and poor housing ….
been raised
indifferent and wondering why all of the above can exist in a largely “faith-based”
world?
People have
always been in motion, on the move. In recent weeks, the books of Exodus and
Numbers have recounted the story of the Israelites’ migration out of Egypt to a
land of promise. Their exodus is physically and spiritually codependent. When the spiritual and the physical
unravel, and they often do in the narrative; the essence and the vitality of
their journey to the promised land, our Kingdom, is lost. They fail.
“But Moses said to
God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out
of Egypt?” He answered, “I will be with you; ….
The children of Israel
set out from Ramses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not
counting the little ones. A crowd of
mixed ancestry also went up with them, besides their livestock, very
numerous flocks and herds. They had
rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity even to prepare food for the
journey.” Exodus 3:11-12, 12: 37-39
God commissioned
a dissident, a man sentenced to death for killing an Egyptian, Moses to lead
the Israelites out of Egypt. He was a
Hebrew married to a gentile. God
promised to be with Moses and his people at all times. Moses questioned his abilities and God’s
commitment. Amongst the chaos and
frenzy, the Israelites escaped killings, hunger, and slavery to peace. God provided protection as they passed
through disease, death of children, and the Red Sea to dry land. They were not only free, but holy.
Yet, these migrants become
frustrated, nomadic, and afraid. Despite
just enough manna to eat off the ground, the Israelites grew weary, ungrateful,
lost vision, forgot they were a people of God. Despair crushed their trust in God. Hope to reach the promised land ceased. Moses, the hands, feet, eyes, ears of God, reminded
the Israelites of justice and the bread of the Lord. Though they promised and failed, God did
not. Moses led God’s people to the
promised land.
What we typically think of
immigrants on the move today are not unlike those of the Israelites driven by
fear; a norm of social violence, relentless poverty, rummaging, exploring,
inventing, ways to survive. Under
excruciating pressure, ill-prepared, they move.
Physical violence, destroyed habitat, technology replacing purpose and
worth, cultural and ethnic prejudices, all threaten dreams and welfare.
Christ
“loved” their lives, all existence into being!
God calls us to be the hands offering migrants welcome and peace.
As humans, we migrate. We chase our hopes, callings, but not
without loss, mourning. “We all
experience the constant drama of the new and the constant sorrow of the loss of
what we’ve left behind. It is a
universal sorrow and one so potent that we seek to deny it, rarely
acknowledging it in ourselves, let alone in others. We’re encouraged by society to focus only on
the new, on acquisition, rather than on the loss that is the other thread
uniting and binding our species.” (1)
Time like a wave continuously sweeps us forward without pause.
I did not choose my family, the
parents to whom I was born, initially where I lived, my social economic class,
color of my skin, faith, and initial education.
I was born to a loving family that allowed me the privilege of living in
the United States. I’ve lived in six
states and sixteen cities with opportunities improving my employment,
education, family life, and research.
Had I been born in Europe, I might have lived in as many as ten
countries. I felt sad leaving family and
friends and renewed adding new friends to my family.
We’re all migrants. We’re all in motion. People move north, south, east, west, out
into space and deep into their oceans.
They claim space as if it’s theirs; only for time and death to take it
away. Vast numbers typically
characterized as migrants are like those mentioned above, fleeing to a place of
refuge, peace, education, medicine, opportunity. People forget they, themselves have migrated
in marriage, to better jobs, healthcare, climate, education, social circles,
teams, peace. They migrate through
sacraments, families, and the seasons of life.
Yet, excluding fear and threats, aren’t the oppressed numbers seeking
the same opportunities as freedom and hope, as those that migrate freely?
Not unlike
the Israelites, people segregate into nationals and migrants. The nationals entitle themselves as
natives. Though not unlike false gods, they
construct high electric fences, bury heavy minefields between walls, install
elaborate surveillance to enforce their superiority. If the reason people are in motion is due to
need, fear and threats, they are often unwelcomed. People argue it is different because their
steps carried them within the boundaries of their country, not into a new
country.
Our journey, like that of the
Israelites, is physical intertwined with
the spiritual! God promised to be
with us. For those who have read my
previous blogs, I trust the Creator; the Kingdom of God is here. We’re in it!
The beaten down Israelites wandered
the desert with Moses leading them to the promised land. And after they arrived searching for something
better, they complained. “As long as you
operate inside any scarcity model, there will never be enough God or grace to
go around. Jesus came to undo our
notions of scarcity and tip us over into a worldview of absolute abundance – or
what he would call the ‘Kingdom of God.’
(2) In moments of grace, we
capture glimpses of the Kingdom in our lives and in the lives of others where
everything feels right in the universe.
We want to freeze time; the birth of a child, worthy accomplishments,
celebrations with friends, marvels in nature, new extensions in discovery! Unfortunately, we can’t suspend time. When I grumble, I feel the breakdown of my
relationship with my Guide. Christ moves
with us along our search for the Kingdom, for it is grand and vast beyond our
collective imaginations!
Accepting that we are many cultures
in motion is imperative. Human potential
continues to amaze. Consider what a
ninety-year-old individual has witnessed through decades of discovery and
development. It is essential we become
responsible stewards, good shepherds of the quality of all life in the
infinitesimally small spot of the Kingdom we call earth. We cannot own it, denigrate it, raid it.
We’re all migrating. Those south and north of our borders are
God’s chosen people just as we are. The
good, exciting news; many are working for justice, better employment, reduced
violence, a cleaner environment, a more cohesive community. More are needed. Without them, we all fail.
All are called. God entrusted creation to our forbearers, to
those joining us, our children and all children to come. We are all the people of God! We are not alone. God is with us!
“Before I formed you
in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you …” Jeremiah
1:5
“Thus, says the Lord,
your redeemer, who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, who made all
things, who alone stretched out the heavens; when I spread out the earth, who
was with me?” Isaiah 44:24
(1) Author
Mohsin Hamid, National Geographic 8/2019
(2) Franciscan
priest and author Richard Rohr, director of the Center of Action and
Contemplation, Albuquerque, NM
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