Jesus, Mary and Joseph—illegal immigrants in the land of Egypt

Immigration controversy during Christmas seems so out of place. After all it is the season we celebrate the birth of Jesus, whose very life defined charity, mercy and love. Yet the timing could not be better for there are parallels between the nativity story and today’s hottest issue that can enlighten our path.

You see, Joseph, Mary and Jesus were themselves immigrants. They fled to Egypt to escape the murderous clutch of King Herod, who was looking to kill baby Jesus, the newborn king about whom the wise men had spoken.

This begs the question: What if the Egyptians had treated Jesus like some would today’s immigrants who are here without proper authorization? They’d have sent them packing back to Bethlehem, in Judea, where Herod would have killed him.

Never would we have known about Jesus, God’s shining example of how we should order our lives. No Prince of Peace, no shepherds or silent nights, no peace on earth, good will to men. No reason and thus, no season.

Earth would be a more hard-hearted orb, one with less mercy, less justice and no concept of forgiveness, redemption and eternal life. And while ages upon ages of human-caused misery attest to the distance we still have to go it would have undoubtedly been even farther without Jesus’ leadership.

This is not to minimize or ignore the problems associated with newcomers to our country, documented or not. Yet they also contribute mightily to the ever-growing quilt of America. The good far outweighs the downside. And after all, if you were drowning and about to be saved by an immigrant, would you stop and ask to see their papers?

Surely we can fashion policies consistent with Jesusian principles, chief among them the precedence of the Golden Rule over any man-made political boundaries. Steps along this higher path might include some of the following:

1) A guest worker program,
2) A requirement for employers of undocumented workers to enlist them in this program, collect payroll taxes and otherwise pay and treat them as our law demands for citizens;
3) A track to citizenship for those working and obeying our laws, including education and indoctrination on the rights and responsibilities of living in America;
4) Bi-lingual education only as a means to learning English.

We are able to celebrate God’s greatest gift because of the welcome reception given Jesus by the Egyptians. We can do Jesus no greater honor than to similarly treat the newcomers in our midst.

And by so acting with the faith we profess we will fulfill the true spirit of Christmas.

Richard F. Dawahare 12/5/06