February 24, 2008

Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus engages a Samaritan woman in conversation at Jacob’s well.  He challenges her because she has had five husbands, and he invites her to drink of the water he has to offer, water which gives eternal life.  She is amazed by Jesus’ knowledge, recognizes him as a prophet, and responds positively to his invitation.  She runs back to her village and begins to lead people to Jesus through her testimony. 

When his disciples return and find Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman, they are amazed but say nothing to him about it.  They know Jewish law forbids a man to talk in public to a woman not of his family.  Moreover, they know Jews were prohibited from associating with Samaritans, whom they considered heretics from the Jewish faith.  In other words, by talking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus was breaking at least two laws.

Breaking laws was not a problem for Jesus if there was a justifiable reason.  For example, his followers broke the laws of rest on the Sabbath Day by picking corn in the fields.  He himself frequently broke the law of the Sabbath by curing the sick on the holy day.  Once before curing a man with a paralyzed hand, he said, “What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out?”  When challenged for not obeying the law, Jesus responded that the Sabbath was made for human beings and not human beings for the Sabbath.  He also cited the ancient teaching of the prophet Hosea who voiced God’s words: “What I want from you is plain and clear: I want your compassion, not your sacrifices of animals.”  For Jesus, compassion supersedes all other laws.

This lesson is important for our time because we hear so much talk about the “illegals, among us” meaning people who have entered the country illegally.  It is interesting how we label them “illegal” people but we don’t call anyone else who breaks the law “illegal.”  If you shop lift, run a red light, sell drugs or embezzle money, we do not call you an “illegal.”  Furthermore, although some people call them “illegal workers”, no one calls their employers “illegal employers,” even though it is illegal for employers to hire people without proper documentation.  Clearly we reserve the pejorative word “illegals” for undocumented foreigners.  This naming of a certain class of people is a way for us to dehumanize them and thus enable us to treat them coldly and with as little compassion as possible.

The word “illegal” is not a neutral term; it implies a person is criminal, a bad person, not just someone who has done something wrong – even though the so-called “illegal person” is a perfectly good person who felt forced to break a law in order to survive.  The word “illegal” blocks out any consideration among us about why people enter the country illegally and why they do not use legal channels.  These questions are important because if we try to answer them, we will discover the desperation that motivates immigrants to break the law.  If we ask ourselves these questions, we will learn, as Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angles has noted, that our immigration system is broken.  As Jesus asked, Would we not lift a sheep out of a deep hole on the Sabbath?

To appreciate the challenges of immigration today, we must understand people’s desperate need to survive.  Moreover, if our immigration laws were changed to accommodate our country’s need for low wage workers, most people would not enter the United States illegally as they are now.  There would be more visas available to accommodate more workers, and undocumented immigrants could enter the country legally.    

But what about breaking laws?  People say that we are a country of law and order and our laws must be respected.  Yes, we are a country of laws, but all laws are not absolute.  Just as Jesus noted that compassion may supersede certain Jewish laws, so we have a long Catholic tradition of morality that allows for breaking the law.  For example, if an impoverished widow and her children are starving to death and they pass a bakery, they may take some bread without paying for it.  The Catholic Church teaches that their need to survive supersedes the baker’s right to payment for his bread.  This case is nothing but an application of Jesus’ principle of compassion for human life.  When the American bishops call for compassion for the 13 million undocumented people and their families in the United States, they are invoking this same Catholic teaching. 

Some people object to granting legal status to these so-called “illegals”.  They call it amnesty, which they oppose.  However, our country has employed amnesty on many occasions.  For example, after war, for enemy combatants. Presidents also have granted amnesty to certain individuals who have broken the law in a much more serious manner than workers crossing the border in a desperate search for work.  Recently, some people have called for amnesty for athletes who have used outlawed enhancing drugs because of what they have contributed to the game of sport.  Amnesty is meant for people who break the law but deserve special consideration.  Should it not be granted to people who ask for so little and contribute so much to our communities?

When we think of undocumented persons, let us think of the man who crossed the border and has not seen his family for ten years but each month sends money home to feed his children.  When we think of people called “illegals”, let us think of the parents who lack legal documents but whose three children are U.S. citizens because they were born here. When we think of granting legal status to people who crossed the border illegally in order to survive, let us think of Jesus breaking the law in order to show compassion for the Samaritan woman or to cure the man with a paralyzed hand on the Sabbath.  Let us remember God’s words spoken by Hosea:  “I want your compassion, not your sacrifices of animals.” 

Prayers of the Faithful

For all of us, that we might have a generous and forgiving heart as our loving and gracious God.

For all families of undocumented immigrants, that they might experience love and compassion in their churches and communities.

For our church and her leaders, that we might always be guided by the rule of compassion instead of by human law.

For our political leaders, that they be guided not by hatred and greed but by love and generosity.