March 9, 2008

Jesus appears to delay deliberately before visiting his sick friend Lazaro.  He seems to want to arrive after his death in order to demonstrate to his disciples that he has the power over death.  And he raises Lazaro from the dead just before his own death to teach his disciples that they should not fear death.  They should believe him when he tells them that he  rise from the tomb in three days.

One striking detail of this story is the statement that Jesus wept as he drew near Lazaro’s tomb.  These two words, Jesus wept, reveals to us his humanity but also the depth of his feeling for his friend.  Although he is the Son of God, like us he feels the emotion of love and the pain of separation from a loved one.  This detail helps us to connect with Jesus not only as Lord and Savior but as our brother, one who is human like us and therefore understands us.  

Since we will celebrate the passion and death of Jesus in a few weeks, it is good to reflect on Jesus’ capacity to endure suffering and pain for us.  Through his passion we recognize the enormity of his love and we readily join our sufferings to his for the redemption of the world.  Although Jesus suffered and died only once, his death is made current, it is actualized here and now in the people who suffer today.  The Church has long taught what the Latin American bishops stated in their conference in Santo Domingo: “In the suffering faces of the poor, we see the suffering face of Christ.”  In the pain of the poor and the dispossessed, in the fear of the immigrant and those unjustly accused, we see reflected the suffering of our Crucified Lord, who reminds us that ultimately we will be judged on the compassion and charity which we show them. “For I was hungry, but you gave me no food; alone or a stranger or in prison, but you could not be bothered with.” If we ignore the poor and oppressed, we will miss seeing and serving Jesus.

Today we see the suffering face of Jesus in immigrant families so often exploited, demeaned, hunted and separated from family members.  It is estimated that 500,000 immigrants enter the United States each year without legal documentation.  They come in search of work in order to support their families.  They have little option if they want to survive because there is no work in their homeland and the United States allows so few visas that they cannot realistically legally obtain entry within a meaningful length of time. They arrive in our country after a dangerous journey which often ends in death or rape.  They begin their lives in our land already indebted to those who helped them cross the border and traverse the desert.  They accept almost any job, often earning below minimum wage. When at times employers refuse to pay them for work completed, they can hardly take legal action, not only because they lack information about how to defend themselves but because they lack the resources to hire a lawyer. 

Undocumented immigrants work in the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs, and for that reason they have the highest rate of serious industrial accidents of any ethnic group in the country.  Once they are injured, they have little recourse to medical services and compensation for loss of work.  Employers can readily fire them, and they often do after the workers get injured, because undocumented immigrants do not qualify for unemployment compensation.  If they are laid off or lose their jobs because of plant closings, they cannot obtain economic aid to assist them while looking for a new job. 

Added to this exploitation are efforts by the federal government and many local municipalities to round up undocumented workers and deport them.  Government agents and police stop cars searching for undocumented workers, surround factories and search the premises for undocumented persons, knock on doors of immigrants’ homes in the early morning looking for people they believe are here illegally.  The result of these crackdowns is terrible fear.  Some people refuse to leave their homes lest the police stop them in the street.  Wives are terrified their husbands will not return from work.  Children fear their parents will be swept away and deported, dividing their family.  In the terrified faces of these families we must recognize the suffering face of Jesus.  He defended the immigrant against legalized restrictions and rejection.  He held up the immigrant as a model when he told the story of the Good Samaritan.

No matter what our politics, no matter how indifferent or unfeeling or how unsupportive a person may be, no one can remain unmoved after seeing the sadness, the sorrow, the anguish and the fear reflected in the faces of the immigrant men and women, young people and adults, boys and girls, who - because they or their parents have entered this country illegally in order to survive or find a better life – are regularly treated as persons of little or no value. While tighten the laws against immigrants, we continue to welcome them to do our menial labor.  Who among us has not benefited from their washing dishes, cutting lawns, mixing cement, or making beds?  After benefiting from immigrants back breaking labor, how can we not reward them with a stay of deportation? 

As we celebrate the passion and death of Jesus, let us look into his face and feel his love and compassion for the poor and oppressed.  Today, his sufferings are reflected in the faces of the poor and the immigrant.  Let’s us comfort our Lord by embracing the immigrant among us. 

Prayers of the Faithful

For a just and compassionate reform of our nation’s immigration law.

For immigrants who face discrimination and exploitation in their work, that they may find support and respect in our church.

For immigrant families divided by our laws, that they might be reunited and live in peace.

For all of us, that we might see in the poor and oppressed the suffering face of Jesus.

Suggestions from fr. Chuck Dahm, OP for preaching on immigration during the five Sundays of Lent.