stop producing them ” ( www . humanrightsatsea-news . org / 2016 / 05 /).
Should we turn away our faces from this horror ? Even if we did , could we deny that the ground beneath tens of thousands of displaced persons runs bloody red throughout the world ? Are there not “ innocents ” being martyred today ? Though God is surely walking with them in their suffering and death , what is our humanitarian response to this tragic situation ?
We must turn our eyes to these refugees , hear their stories and cry with their anguished families . The children in our very midst are being slaughtered , yes , by tyrannical regimes , but also by the apathy , ignorance and even absolute bigotry and intolerance that pervades predominantly Western nations and their people .
By records kept by the United Nations , 65.3 million people were displaced in 2015 . One in every 113 persons of the world ’ s 7 billion people are refugees – displaced and fleeing to find safety .
As we listen to the proclamation of Matthew ’ s familiar Christmas story this year , what will resonate in our hearts ? Will we hear the passage as just a story ? Or , will we see this as part of our shared story , one where we have a pivotal role in caring for those in danger and without homes ?
Aliens in a Strange Land
Recently while taking a cab in Chicago I spoke with a driver who was born in Palestine . In the context of our fascinating conversation , he told me about the hospitality offered to the pilgrims who had gathered in Bethlehem when Pope John Paul II visited in 2000 . The sheer number overwhelmed the hotels . He said that the people living in Bethlehem opened their homes to travelers out of pure hospitality , mostly free of charge , because the townspeople believed it was the right thing to do . He said that the concept of Bethlehem being a sacred place “ is still running in the veins of the people there .”
He also recounted the story of his father , a Palestinian refugee , who was received into Brazil in 1948 . He expressed deep gratitude for the Brazilians and the countries at that time who were willing to welcome persons displaced by the war with Israel . He said his family is eternally indebted , and even as he has found a home in the United States with his own family , that gratitude runs deep in his approach to all refugees today .
His story confirmed that having a first-hand experience of being displaced – as difficult and desperate as that ordeal might be – can lead to heart-filled gratefulness . But his gratitude to Brazil and her people made me wonder . What countries will be remembered with gratitude in twenty years by the desperate refugees uprooted by the war in Syria , or by those caught in inescapable violence in Central America , or by those trapped by vicious gangs in some Mexican cities , or even by those from today ’ s Palestine , still torn by conflict and genocide ?
When further exploring this topic , I turned to the dictionary to look up the words migrant and refugee . It led me further to the word alien and its definition . This exploration brought to mind a mandate that informs our Judeo-Christian tradition and code of conduct :
You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you ; you shall love the alien as yourself ; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt . I , the LORD , am your God ( Leviticus 19:34 ).
Were not Mary , Joseph and the child Jesus foreigners , strangers , migrants , refugees , aliens ? As we acknowledge the plight of the Holy Family during this Christmas season , can we also see the face of God in the undocumented , the refugee , the stranger in our midst ?
Compassionate Response
During a visit in 2016 to the Greek island of Lesbos , Pope Francis knew it was a place of great pain for refugees . On his flight from Rome to Greece , he told reporters that “ This is a trip marked by sadness and that ’ s important . It ’ s a sad trip . We are going to meet so many people who suffer , who don ’ t know where to go , who were forced to flee , and we are also going to a cemetery – the sea , where so many have drowned .”
While in Greece , Francis , along with the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Archbishop Ieronymos ii of Athens , reportedly spent more time greeting refugees individually than they did giving speeches . Through their compassionate example , they demonstrated to the citizens of world that actions speak louder than words .
Patriarch Bartholomew , the spiritual leader of the world ’ s Orthodox Christians , told the refugees , “ We have wept as we watched the Mediterranean Sea becoming a burial ground for your loved ones . We have wept as we witnessed the sympathy and sensitivity of the people of Lesbos and other islands . But we have also wept as we saw the hard-heartedness of our fellow brothers and sisters – your fellow brothers and sisters
8 • The New Wine Press • January 2017