Fleeing violence in their homeland, Mary and Joseph became refugees with their infant son.
They escaped the fate decreed by the cruel despot, King Herod. Fearing the birth of the Messiah, Herod decreed death to all male infants in and around the town of Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph made the long trek to Egypt to protect their precious child.
Today, some of my brothers and sisters who are Christians are among the loudest voices who advocate deporting hard working parents, many of whom fled violence, oppression and poverty in their native lands. There is now a case before the Supreme Court that would rewrite 150 years of Constitutional precedence to strip citizenship from those born here of immigrant parents.
I do not mean to politicize Christmas. I simply hope to remind us what Old and New Testament Scriptures say about what those of us who profess are called to do.
The Prophet Zachariah summed up our responsibilities: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor.” (Zachariah 7:9-10)
Reasonable people can differ about what faith teaches us. Reasonable people can disagree about immigration laws and policies. But no reasonable believer can countenance armed and masked men in unmarked cars seizing people off the streets based on the color of their skin, separating them from their families, confining them in inhumane conditions, and sending them back to places that they fled decades ago.
This is happening now in our city and in our country. It’s shameful.
Christians are called to be the light of the world, not to bring darkness.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrews, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)
We Christians have no claim to dictate public policy in our nation. But in a season steeped in merriment, celebration and rampant consumerism, it bears reflecting on how we treat “the least of these.” After all, Christmas is ultimately not about Santa Claus and reindeer, but about the miraculous advent of the Prince of Peace, born in a stable among the animals and laid in a manger, a feeding trough.
Whatever your beliefs, may the spirit of Christmas bring you peace and joy — and remind you what Jesus said when asked what were God’s greatest commandments. He replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Rick Cole is District 2 Councilmember and a parishioner of St. Elizabeth’s Church. His views are his own.
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