February 10, 2008

Our celebration of Lent always begins with the temptation of Jesus. The Spirit leads him into the desert where he spends forty days and nights in fasting, preparing himself for his active ministry.  The Gospels clearly connect Jesus to his ancestors who twelve centuries earlier were led by Moses out of oppression in Egypt and into the desert where they wandered as migrants for forty years before entering the Promised Land.  As for them, his desert experience is a arduous preparation for the challenges awaiting him.

In the desert, Jesus is tested, and in ways that many of us might be tested.  The tempter offers him abundant food, bread, changed from stones, but Jesus rejects the temptation, declaring that “One does not live on bread alone” but on the Word of God.   When he is tempted to test God’s protective love, he reaffirms his faith in God’s care for him and rejects any attempt to question God’s providence.  And finally, when offered power over kingdoms, Jesus declares that rather than seek power and wealth, we should only serve and worship the Lord God.  

Jesus’ victory over temptation teaches a lesson about how the Israelites, then, and we, today, must reject the seductions of material possessions, the desire to use power over others, or the doubts about God’s loving care for us and the human family. 

This year we, the people of the United States, a great nation, will elect a new president.  Political speeches and debates already abound.  Although politicians and the media often exaggerate small differences among the candidates and parties, they ignore fundamental questions of the direction of our country. This year we should ask “Where are we going as a nation under God.”  Perhaps we need a time in the desert to get our priorities straight and resist the temptations of our time. 

Undoubtedly, one of the greatest temptations facing our country is fear.  We fear the survival of our health, our national security, our clean air and the earth’s ice fields.  We arm ourselves to the teeth against mostly unknown enemies and amass more and more resources to assure our comfort and survival. We even fear the immigrant who comes to join us, work with us and for us at very reasonable wages.  Instead of welcoming immigrants as brothers and sisters of our human family, many characterize them as unwanted invaders and threats to our way of life. 

This fear of immigrants is so strong that some immigrants themselves, once established as American citizens, take the same position. They want to close the door to more recent immigrants arriving behind them.  The temptation to be selfish, to store up excessive resources, to be miserly, to share the bare minimum with others less fortunate, is a universal human temptation.  How will we as followers of Jesus respond to these temptations?

In fact, we view ourselves differently. We see ourselves not as stingy people but an immigrant nation, a land of opportunity, a people continually growing in size and diversity.  We need to stop and ask ourselves: isn’t there room for us all, especially for those who are struggling to feed their families and educate their children?  Can we not accommodate those who come to do the most menial work for us?

Some people say there isn’t room; they claim immigrants take jobs from native born Americans. But this is not true.  It is a myth.  The labor market is not a limited pie but an ever-expanding one that can serve more and more people.  Reliable scientific studies document that immigrants create jobs instead of take them; moreover, immigrants are consumers and their consumption adds significantly to our economy.  Alan Greenspan, the former head of the Federal Reserve, stated that the phenomenal economic growth of the 1990s was due primarily to immigration, both legal and illegal.  Immigrants, in fact, expand opportunities for native workers rather than reduce them. 

Another myth is that immigrant workers depress wages of native workers.  This claim is totally unsubstantiated.  Studies of wages in California, the state with the largest share of immigrants, show that instead of depressing wages, immigrant workers help increase the wages of native workers.  Most people recognize that immigrants are extremely hard workers who readily find work, do not live off welfare, and are no less employed than the general population.  Studies document that 90% of immigrants, legal and illegal, find work within 90 days.

While the political rhetoric in this election year may focus on only a handful of issues, we as a nation are at a crossroad, if we recognize the challenges and opportunities we face. Who are we as a people?  How do we care for one another, especially for the less fortunate?  As the most powerful nation on earth, what is our role in building peace and justice in the world?  These are fundamental questions we face, if we chose to address them.

Let us reflect on ourselves as a nation of immigrants, a nation of diverse people united under one and the same God.  We must confront our fears of losing material possessions or cultural identity and rediscover who we are.  We are part of the human family, and in fact, the richest part of the family.  Not by bread alone will we survive but by the Word of God.  Not by power and domination will we guarantee our security but by love and sharing who we are and what we have.  Adam and Eve were given unlimited resources in the garden of Eden.  They gave in to temptation and lost everything.  May our reflections on who we are, on God’s will for us, lead us to a new life of peace and happiness.

Prayers of the Faithful

May we as a people overcome our many fears of others and live in peace with all nations.

May our country welcome immigrants coming to us in their need as our brothers and sisters.

May our political debates this year enlighten our minds and expand our conversation to our most important national priorities.

May we as persons and as church be filled with the generous and compassionate spirit of our magnanimous Creator