The gospel reading assigned for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary time is probably one of the most famous ones in scripture. It's of the Good Samaritan. Our Lord was challenged by a scholar of the law with the question, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25). Jesus throws it right back to him and asks, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” (Luke 10:26). The scholar rightly answers with, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27). Jesus indicates that this is the correct answer. But the scholar, wanting to prove himself, asks, "Who is my neighbor." That's when our Lord tells of the Good Samaritan.
How does this story of the Good Samaritan apply in this day and age? The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. We have in our own time those people that seem different to us and makes us feel uncomfortable with. Foreigners that we feel don't belong here. People fleeing their homes for whatever reason to seek peace in our country.
I was challenged recently about my strong feelings on how immigrants should be entering our country. I'm in favor of doing it through legal means and following the laws of the United States. I still feel that way, but my challenge is this: how do we respect the immigration laws of the United States while at the same time showing mercy and compassion to those who feel they have no other way of getting to the United States but through illegal means? How can we show compassion to them while at the same time respect the laws of the United States? That's my struggle.
Let's pray for the people of the United States who deserve safe and stable borders, and for those who want to come to the United States to be able to find the way to get here in a way that's good for them and beneficial to the well being of the United States.
Very good. I think that we need to distinguish between different types of illegal immigrants and I do NOT mean by race or nationality. Those with a liberal mindset tend to feel that we should open our borders to anyone, while those of a conservative mindset tend to stereotype all illegal immigrants as bad & potentially dangerous because they broke the law.
ReplyDeleteWe must find a way to protect our borders from those who seek to do harm, such as terrorists, sex traffickers, drug dealers & other criminals. We cannot deny that people in these categories who perpetrate evil are among the illegal immigrants & that our nation & citizens need protection. At the same time we need to show mercy & compassion to decent, hard working people who do not have evil motives but who were merely desperate to find a safe, secure life for themselves & their families, who are willing to love our country & appreciate our way of life.
Those who are in the former category must be denied entrance or be deported.
Those who entered illegally or overstayed their visas out of desperation or out of ignorance and who are seeking a better life for themselves & their families & are willing to work hard & obey our laws must be given a clear cut, specific, easy to follow path to legalization.
It is wrong to characterize people who entered or stayed illegally or who belong to specific ethnic groups as either all good or all bad. We must acknowledge that some are good & some are bad.
For those who were desperate but are willing to do the right thing there should always be a second chance, because our God is the God of second chances.
We must pray that our leaders stop fighting each other & that they seek God's ways in handling this crisis. Let us pray that God will provide our leaders with the wisdom, understanding & discernment needed to handle this situation in a way that is prudent, just & compassionate, as our God is both just & compassionate.
Here's an email response I received from a friend in response to this blog:
ReplyDeleteTom, I sympathize with the article you wrote in your blog regarding the gospel reading for Sunday, July 14th, 2019, the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, in which you honestly admit your struggles to accepting the challenge between the law of our government or the God-given law.
This humble confession of yours has touched me, and I wish there were many more people like you, who would stop to think about the factors involved before passing judgments on issues such as prejudices, as you pointed out. I would like to add, as well, the existence of judgments based on the acquisition of national wealth and personal economical status, which all lead to the assurance of power, a major factor of our country's political goals. A solution that can serve for good or evil, depending on how it is handled.
Meanwhile, remembering the early years of our nation; navigators who claimed to having "discovered a new land", (which was never lost, nor uninhabited), carried off with riches of the land’s natural resources back to the monarchs who had funded their expeditions, for the enrichment of their own country’s wealth and power. Eventually, this event was followed by early settlers who arrived from different nations of the Old World, to get a share of the pie in the "New Land” (that was taken from the native inhabitants), because they wanted a better life than what they were living in their own native land. They wanted a share of the joys of freedom and newfound wealth, the “American Dream”.
All this past history and today’s political abuse of power, reminds me of the scripture reading about the servant who refused to forgive his fellow servant's plea to allow him more time to repay his debt; right after the King had forgiven him his full debt worth much more money, out of compassion for him, after hearing his plea for more time to pay his own debt. Mathew 18:21-35
It is a pity that there are people who have the tendency not to look back at their own past when 'the good gets going’. The Law should be carried out for the betterment of humanity, not just for the select. God’s love is for all and eternal. As our Creator, Savior and The Way, He, alone is our Judge.
My choice is clear: This has been a nation founded by immigrants, with a continuous influx of new immigrants, all seeking the freedom to live a better and happier way of life than that in which they have been inhumanly imposed either by governmental tyranny or impoverished circumstances. We are all neighbors to one another, in God’s eyes and in our claim to be children of God. Therefore, we must follow God’s commandments, to define ourselves as Christians, not just in faith but in action, by our treatment for one another, as the Good Samaritan exemplifies.
Yes, there will be those who will take advantage of the goodwill of his fellowman and will try to continue to sponge off, trample and even repay with ingratitude and back-stabbing; but wasn’t that exactly what the Lord, himself, went through? Yet, what was his plea to the Father when nailed at the Cross? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
However, I am not claiming, that we be God. We are only human. This is where the Justice system does its work according to the crime committed: Incarceration/Rehabilitation or Deportation, whichever fits. IT IS NOT JUSTICE, TO ALLOW THE INNOCENT PAY FOR SINNERS, too.
Christ’s Blessings, Nilda V., OCDS