XXX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
THE POOR, THE WIDOW AND THE MIGRANT
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
This XXX Sunday in Ordinary Time brings us a topic to reflect upon that can be very difficult. I wonder how I can present it without upsetting people. But if you feel upset in your heart, whether that feeling is good or bad, of acceptance or rejection, it will be OK because it will help us see that the topic continues to be applicable today and still needs an answer.
“You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.” (Ex. 22:20-22) Fr. Pedro Herrasti, S.M. wrote in a reflection on liberation theology: “In our country, so rich in possibilities, millions live in extreme poverty, in small towns all up and down our territory, without the smallest hope of a better future. How many have had to abandon their hometowns to try to go ‘to the other side’ to the embarrassing spectacle of the undocumented, exposed to all kinds of dangers by the ‘coyotes’ and other exploiters, because they have no opportunities to progress in Mexico?” (Brochure EVC #18: Liberation Theology) And I would complete the list that not only Mexicans, but also Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, people from all over the Americas, and Burmese, and Europeans, and from the whole world. Those who leave their country looking for another place that will give them an opportunity – and I’m not only speaking of the United States. But when they arrive to the other place, they find closed doors and discrimination because of their illegal, undocumented status, and they are given many names. Including in the church itself some find rejection. Believe me as I write this I am crying just thinking about so many stories that I have heard with tear-filled eyes. Since I have been here in the United States I have seen and heard many, many different stories. Some brothers and sisters, some parishes, are more open to immigrants than others, but very few are willing to risk fighting on their behalf. What a difficult situation! But God invites us to be a brother or sister to those in need. Believe me, it is possible to live love! Many have done it and have given testimony by it. “If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.” (Ex 22: 26b) The first reading shows us how we can find communion with God through the humble and the neighbor in need.
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt 22: 37.39) In this text, Jesus is leading us to meditate on the experience of love. Even though God is not man, the experience of love is the same, just the object or the person loved is different. What gives glory to God, is precisely that we love man as we love Him. We have to say it is impossible to love God more than man. This sounds strong, but if we love God we should love man, but if we do not love man and we oppress him and we forget about the poor, the orphan, the widow, the migrant, and the sick then even if our faith and love of God is strong, it’s not worth anything. God has equated himself with man and has asked that we love him as we love God.
To evangelize in the style of Jesus is humane and makes us more human. Whoever loves fulfills fully the will of God. Whoever loves, knows that love of God is manifested in love of our neighbor. Whoever loves his neighbor knows that he gives glory to God and his love of God is authentic.
May these readings help us to love God and our neighbor authentically, without distinguishing race, color or origin, and in that way, give glory to God. Amen.