Father Richard Rohr invites us to consider how well we love others, especially the stranger, as Jesus teaches:
If our love of God doesn’t directly influence, and even change, how we engage in the issues of our time, I wonder what good religion is. “God talk” becomes an opaque screen in which we see only reflections of ourselves, rather than any kind of true light. “Anyone who says they love God, and hates their brother or sister, is a liar” (1 John 4:20). None of us wants to be a liar, yet religion’s high goals make failure almost inevitable for all of us (read Paul’s attempts to describe this paradoxical phenomenon in Romans 7:7–25). Our daily question is this: “Have I even begun to love?”
Most Christians tend to echo the cultural prejudices and worldviews of the dominant group in their country, with only a minority revealing any real transformation of attitudes or consciousness. It has been true of slavery and racism, classism and consumerism, and issues of immigration and health care for the poor. From a religion based on a man who was always healing poor people and praising foreigners, it defies any logical analysis!
One would think that people who insist they believe in one God would understand that everyone on Earth is equally a child of that one God. Christians ought to be first in line to cross artificial boundaries created by nation states, class systems, cultures, and even religions. Often, we’re the last! It makes one wonder if we believe what we say we believe. Religion too often becomes the way to defend the self instead of the way to “let go of the self” as Jesus forthrightly taught (see Luke 9:23). [1] (Surrender) djr note
Pope Francis reminds Christians of their duty to welcome the stranger:
Let us concentrate on these words of Jesus: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me” (Matthew 25:35–36). In our time, charitable action regarding foreigners is more relevant than ever. The economic crisis, armed conflicts, and climate change have forced many people to emigrate. However, migration is not a new phenomenon; it is part of the history of humanity. It is a lack of historical memory to think that this phenomenon has arisen only in recent years….
At times it seems that the silent work of so many men and women who, in various ways, do all they can to help and assist the refugees and migrants is obscured by the clamor of others who give voice to an instinctive selfishness. However, closure is not a solution, but instead ends up fostering criminal trafficking. The only path to a solution is through solidarity. Solidarity with the migrant, solidarity with the foreigner….
We all … are called to welcome our brothers and sisters who are fleeing from war, from hunger, from violence and from inhuman living conditions. All together we are a great supportive force for those who have lost their homelands, families, work, and dignity.
Choosing to Remain Together
Theologian Julia Lambert Fogg presents a biblical story of intergenerational immigration:
Ruth is the story of a mother and a daughter-in-law who cross borders, lose their husbands, immigrate and emigrate, and ultimately help each other survive even though they are not blood relatives.
Ruth is the daughter-in-law. She is a Moabite woman who leaves her father’s house to marry a recently arrived immigrant to her town. Her betrothed is a Jewish man, the son of Naomi. Although they are of different ethnic backgrounds, Ruth joins the immigrant Jewish man’s household. She moves in with a Moabite sister-in-law, a Jewish brother-in-law, and a Jewish mother-in-law and father-in-law. The six adults live as what we today might call a mixed family: four immigrants and two locals who are bound together by marriage.
But before the young couples have children, tragedy strikes. The male breadwinners fall ill and die, one after the other. This is quite a blow to the family—Ruth’s husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law are all gone. Left without a head of household, the three women must decide what they will do. Will they stay together in Moab? Will they split up so the two young women can start new families? Who will care for the mother-in-law, Naomi, an immigrant with no relatives in Moab and no social network to speak of, and who is too old to marry or to bear children?
Each woman makes her own choice. Ruth’s sister-in-law returns to her father’s house, to “her people and her gods” in Moab (Ruth 1:15). She will likely marry again and start a new family. Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi, decides to return to her Jewish kin in Judah, where she at least has a social network, if not financial resources. These two women make similar choices to simply return home to their own people to start over. They will be reabsorbed into their respective families and cultures of birth. Ruth, however, makes a different choice. She opts to migrate—to leave her home in Moab and travel to Judah with Naomi. For this journey, Ruth binds herself to her mother-in-law, saying,
Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die—
there will I be buried.
(Ruth 1:16–17)
Through her love for Naomi, Ruth becomes a revered part of Jesus’ lineage:
Ruth’s words capture the resolute determination of so many migrants across history. She leaves her parents, her sister-in-law, and her people behind. Ruth will help Naomi reestablish Naomi’s family line in Judah among the Jews. We remember Ruth for her covenant commitment to her mother-in-law and for her courage to migrate, to trust Naomi’s God, and to start a new life among a new people. We also remember this courageous migrant for her descendants, including King David and Jesus of Nazareth.
| Quote of the Week: “There is neither spirit nor matter in the world; the stuff of the universe is spirit-matter.“ Reflection It is such a small quote, above, but it truly challenges some of the deepest assumptions and perspectives of the universe. A true mystic is not happy with dualisms that split reality into “this and that,” and instead look for a third option that affirms and transcends that which we separate with language. Many people, without knowing it, are still rather pagan in their thinking. They don’t realize it, but are thinking more Greek than they are Christian. The Greek Philosopher Plato taught that there was the realm of the world, and the realm of the ideal. This means that somewhere “up above” is a perfect way of being, a perfect blueprint to live by, etc. Meanwhile, “down here” there is nothing but corruption and derivation from the perfect and unattainable ideal. But that is all rather abstract… Here is another way of thinking about it: material things are evil and spiritual things are good. There are many for whom their spiritual worldview can be summed up as such… and this can lead them to deny their own body’s needs, to shame others for enjoying the world of matter, it can lead them to an unspoken anxiety that nothing they ever do will affirm them with true graciousness about their existence here and now. For them, spirit only happens if something intangible and emotional happens within them. For Teilhard, this is an abstraction and a distancing from the actual Christian worldview. The Incarnation is the unique affirmation of the material world, par excellance. In Christ, God found matter worthy of being worn by God. In fact, God did not only “wear” matter, God became matter in the flesh and blood of Jesus of Nazareth. This a mystery beyond comprehension… but not beyond apprehension. We can hold it openhandedly (or rather, it can hold us). The reality is that matter and spirit are not in competition with one another. Neither are matter and spirit trying to establish a hierarchy of who is more important, and neither are matter and spirit truly trying to deny existence to the other. Instead, spirit is only experienced within and as matter. Again, this is absolutely paradigm shifting. Here is why: That hug you received, it was spiritual. That meal made for you, it was spiritual. That car you enjoy driving, is spiritual. That great workout session, that was spiritual. That pillow beneath your head or socks on your feet, those are spiritual, too. There is not matter and spirit, for Teilhard, there is only spirit-matter. The Incarnation testifies to it, and our very lives confirm it. Prayer God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, help us to live within the mystery of the Incarnation. Help us to see past the dualisms, to see through the false fight between matter and spirit, and help us to have the paradigm shift to see that the Incarnation is true. Help us to see the world around us as spirit-matter and help us to relate to it in conscious love and wonder. Amen and amen. |
| Life Overview: Who is He: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin When: Born on May 1st, 1881 in Orcines, France. Died April 10th (Easter), 1955 in New York City, USA. Why He is Important: Teilhard is a figure who “saw things deeply” while also navigating being a modern scientist. He was an archaeologist as well as a Jesuit priest and sought to bring together evolution and Christianity by writing about how Christ is the goal of all cosmic history. He was exiled and censured by the Vatican during his life, but his writings were allowed to be published after his death. He was recently quoted by Pope Francis, which many see as an endorsement. Most Known For: Synthesizing his scientific worldview along with his religious worldview, to then offer a modern approach to Christian spirituality Notable Works to Check Out: The Divine Milieu | The Phenomenon of Man | The Future of Man | Selected Writings |
