Readings (Year C):
Deuteronomy 26:4 – 10
Psalm 91:1 – 2, 10 – 11, 12 – 13, 14 – 15
Romans 10:8 – 13
Luke 4:1 – 13
Reflection: Before God, no one is an alien
The statement: “my father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien” reminds me of the millions of people today who are on the move from one place to another in search of a better life—just as the forebears of the children of Israel were, in biblical times.
Data shows an increase in the number of people leaving their homeland and searching for better living conditions. Stories of survival in border-crossing experiences, by those fleeing violence, environmental disasters, oppression, or seeking economic freedom and opportunities so that they can flourish, inspire a conviction of God’s presence and protection as they make their uncertain and treacherous journey toward a new destination.
Anyone who makes the difficult decision to depart their homeland in search of freedom and a better life is driven by the natural inclination to protect their own dignity against external forces and injury. The young woman with two young children fleeing violence after gangs murdered her husband in the presence of her children did so because of this natural inclination to seek freedom and safety, away from a place of violence and inhumanity. These stories call to mind the scriptures about God’s deliverance and protection of aliens and sojourners who leave behind unbearable conditions in their homeland.
The wandering of the forebears of the children of Israel reveals their desire for a home and identity, which are fundamental to a life of flourishing, dignity, and prosperity. Consider how in the creation story in Genesis God provided a decent habitation for humanity. God placed Adam and Eve in their home in Eden because God desires that the human person, the bearer of divine image, should prosper.
This is why God ended the wandering lifestyle of the forebears of the children of Israel. Having to wander on the edges of society erodes the nobility and dignity of any human person, whether those described in the first reading, or the millions today who leave their homelands in search of a decent habitation elsewhere. The first reading shows how the life of an alien—hopelessly wandering on the edges of our society, along treacherous paths and harsh conditions, with the chance of being an unnamed victim of a natural disaster, through hunger, thirst, physical and emotional exhaustion, and above all, through the indifference and inhumanity of others—is at odd with their human dignity.
The imposition of hard labor on any human being—like forebears of the children of Israel, who were enslaved and forced to worked in ancient Egypt—also diminishes a person’s humanity. Today’s aliens harvest our crops, mow our lawns, clean hotels, airports and other public places, and often accept low wages with little or no benefits simply to have a job, even if it contradicts the principles of the dignity of labor. They are determined to give themselves and their families the opportunities that are often lacking in their homeland.
The compassion and the saving power of God on behalf of the forebears of the children of Israel turned them into a nation—the beginning of their experience of identity, freedom and belongingness as a community, with a shared appreciation of their humanity.
In the second reading, God’s impartiality reminds us that everyone stands on an equal place before God to experience God’s gratuitous gift of divine favor through Christ. Whether Greek or Jew, male or female, poor or rich, citizen or alien, we are equal before God and connected to one another by our shared humanity.
In his February 10th letter to the U.S. Bishops, Pope Francis calls our shared humanity an “infinite and transcendent” value that we all possess as children of God. Therefore, our Lenten observance, as Pope Francis admonishes, should be based “on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.” To promote such an experience of fraternal love in the world today is the summum bonum of our Christian life.
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