With the holidays in full swing, our focus should be on Jesus, not on polarizing our families by politicizing Him. It’s hard to avoid talking about politics with the folks you are related to, especially when you feel compelled to convince them of the errors of their ways and enlighten them with your clarity. But please, avoid the mistake of thinking Jesus is always aligned with your political party’s positions.
For most of my adult life, I’ve tried to improve my station in life. Who wouldn’t want to provide well for their family? It think it is noble and admirable to take care of your family as best as you can.
Before I went to college, I worked for good concrete contractors who paid better than the companies I previously worked for. After college, I went on to earn two Master's degrees; yes to improve my skills in ministry, but also with the hope I could provide better for my family. So I say all of that to say, I do not begrudge anyone from anywhere who wants to make a better life for themselves or their family -- which is the root issue for the folks trying to immigrate to America.
You literally would have to live under a rock if you haven't heard about the caravan at the border. I can appreciate the efforts thousands of people have made, traveling thousands of miles towards the “Land of opportunity.” What I don’t appreciate are the incorrect comparisons to the immigrants traveling here to the birth narrative of Jesus.
For example, perhaps you’re familiar with the Indiana Church making headlines. Attempting to make a political statement, they have the Holy Family incarcerated/detained by I.C.E. -- they have an outdoor nativity scene surrounded by a chain-link fence, topped with barbed wire. There’s only one slight problem with this display, it’s grossly inaccurate.
Again, I understand the appeal of coming to America. And, you know if someone would work as hard at reaching our borders as these people have, they would work hard at any job they might land once they are here. Still, these people are not refugees, not in the sense that they come from famine or war-torn battlefields. And for the love of all that is holy, let’s not say their plight compares to Jesus’ earliest childhood years.
You might have heard the quote that’s making its rounds on the social media circuit, it goes something like this, “How can we worship a refuge on Sunday and ignore refugees on Monday?” It is supposed to shame everyone into thinking the folks trying to cross our southern border are in the same camp as Jesus. The problem with this line of thinking is, it’s mistaken and it is emotionally manipulative. Jesus’ parents weren’t seeking gainful employment when they temporarily went to Bethlehem (where there was “no room” at the Inn -- we should ask why none of Joseph's extended family took them in in his hometown), they were obeying their government's census decree. And similarly when they fled to Egypt temporarily, it was by God’s direction to avoid Herod’s attempts to kill the prophesied coming of the Jewish messiah, not to make a better living.
Neither trip for Mary and Joseph was for a permanent residency, and neither trip was financially motivated. Also, Jesus never referred to Himself as a childhood immigrant-refugee either.
If you are like me, you are exhausted when it comes to the topic of immigration. But we can’t seem to get away from it. It’s completely natural that people in impoverished nations would be attracted to what we have here in America. While I don’t know what the right answer is to our immigration situation, I do know a lot of people are not making things better by trying to exploit Jesus’ childhood or deceptively insert His childhood experiences into the context of the American immigration crisis.
I also know, sadly, we tend to gravitate towards the opinion of our favored political party without thinking issues like this all the way through. When politics doesn’t work to sway others, sometimes we employ the Bible to make our points... Does the Bible have precepts on how to deal with displaced people who are homeless wanderers? Sure. Are the people who willingly left their native South American lands and have traveled through Mexico to come here in the same category as the sojourners the Bible describes? You decide.
Whatever you do this Christmas season, please stop and think about the fact that our southern neighbors are not in and have not experienced the same situations Jesus did. It’s a bad comparison to make and it dishonors both Jesus and the folks trying to get here.
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