For last week's reflection go to:
http://coloradansforimmigrantrights.blogspot.com/
Reflection by Pastor Matt Converse of Ault, CO
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
This was one of texts used at my ordination. I chose it as a reminder to myself to do justice, and to love kindness. But what does doing justice mean? In our context, justice often means either vengeance or the criminal justice system, but neither one is the justice of the prophets, Jesus, or even Paul. In the Old Testament justice could almost be translated as endless compassion; an endless compassion for those who are weakest and most vulnerable in society. This idea of justice is carried over in the New Testament as well.
The idea of biblical justice begins with the memory of slavery in Egypt and their mistreatment at the hands of their overlords. Unfortunately, they, like so many throughout the world, have produced vast amounts of wealth for the elite of society, while being excluded (by the elite) from participating in even the basic necessities of life. The liberated slaves are called to form a new type of community, one that is not based on exploitation and oppression.
The call to form a new community is echoed in the New Testament and in the words and deeds of Jesus himself. The foundation of this community is to be the two ‘commandments:’ “love the Lord God with all your might, and to love your neighbor as yourself”(Lk 10.25ff).
A perfect example of justice as vengeance is often given by conservative radio talk show hosts when discussing amnesty for undocumented immigrates. The argument goes something like: “they are in our country illegally, they’ve broken our laws, and they ought to be punished rather than rewarded with citizenship” etc. But this is a fundamental misunderstanding of what justice is, at least according to the Bible.
Understanding justice as being endlessly compassionate changes how we look at many of the issues of the day, like immigration.
As Christians, we should look at laws differently. While acknowledging that laws are necessary to prevent chaos, laws should also be constructed to protect those most vulnerable in our society. If the law is not protecting the most vulnerable in our society, or plainly taking advantage of those who are most vulnerable, then Christians of good conscience should break these unjust laws by not accepting the law and work together to reform them and make them more just.
After all, Jesus himself was a law breaker, he allowed his disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath (Mk 2.23ff), he also healed people on the Sabbath (Mk 3. 1ff), and was ultimately executed by Rome as a law breaker (Mt 27.38). Jesus broke the law because the law prevented people from experiencing the fullness of their humanity.
Someone once said that “laws are the last refuge of tyrants.” When we allow broken and bad laws to overrule compassion, equality, and dignity, then we, too, are in danger of becoming tyrants.
Unfortunately, we often let our immigration laws conceal our own racism, especially with immigrants from Mexico and Central America. We are called to a higher ideal of community and justice than this.
Immigration is a perfect example of the difference between law and justice. Justice demands that we look upon the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the US with compassion, offering them a legitimate path to citizenship, while the law simply says to deport them.
The fear of deportation, of being separated from their families has created a large workforce that can be easily intimidated and threatened by employers. This has created yet another group of people who are being excluded from experiencing the fullness of humanity for the sake of the elite. Every year farm workers in CA(and other places)die from heat exposure, and unsafe working conditions, yet employers(and governments)ignore the problems. When employees stand up for better working conditions they are threatened with deportation or swiftly fired.
Immigration laws, as all laws, are supposed to protect those who are most vulnerable in our world. Unfortunately, the law as currently configured continues to perpetuate this cycle of exploitation and abuse.
Biblical justice demands immigration reform that will place human dignity and worth at the forefront. I have not found a single story in the Bible that references a person as being illegal. Instead, the stories of the Bible, the stories of our faith, often break the unjust laws that are inhumane (e.g. the exodus, Elijah and Jezebel, Jesus and Rome etc.). Immigration laws need to prevent the exploitation and abuse of workers, while promoting a flourishing global community. Immigrants are people just like us, people in whom we see the face of Christ.
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For more info contact Jenn at jpiper@afsc.org or 303-623-3464
