We often think of the Advent and Christmas story as being a wonderfully uplifting and hope-filled story. We gloss over the hard parts. This is the year in the Lectionary that we are reminded that there is a shadow side of Christmas. Year A invites us to read the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew tells us the story of the Magi.
We know that story: The Magi travel a long distance to bring the Christ Child gifts and worship him. We may forget that the Magi did not know where they were going. They stopped and asked King Herod for help, who in return asked the chief priests about this Star, this prophecy about a baby being born “King of the Jews.” Herod then sent the Magi on their way to baby Jesus and asking them to come back and tell him exactly where they found Jesus.
The Angel of the Lord appears to the Magi and tells them that they must return home a different way. Herod harbors a secret desire to harm baby Jesus. The Magi leave in the night and do not return to Herod.
Yet Herod does not let this drop. He does not want someone replacing him as King. He decides he will kill all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under. Jesus is saved from this dreadful fate. The angels of the Lord appear to Joseph and tell him to flee Israel with Mary and Jesus that very night.
Joseph, Mary and Jesus flee seeking asylum in Egypt. They live in Egypt until the Angel of the Lord comes and tells them it is safe to return.
I hope as you read this story, you are being reminded of the thousands of people who are displaced each year, who flee for their lives from war-torn countries and areas, seeking asylum at our borders and the borders of other countries around the world.
It is not uncommon for refugees to be turned away at the border. When I was in high school, I lived in Plattsburgh, NY, the last small city in New York State before you get to the Canadian border. One year, Canada decided to close its borders to asylum seekers. These refugees could go to the border and apply for asylum. Then they had to find a place to stay in the US while they awaited their moment in court to plea their case. They were sent back to Plattsburgh.
The churches in Plattsburgh stepped up, much like the churches in Martha’s Vineyard when refugees from Texas were dropped there earlier this Fall. Churches opened their doors to house refugees. Some members of churches took refugees into their own home.
The congregation my dad pastored took in refugee families. I remember each and every one of them. I remember this young man. He could not have been yet 20 years old. He had left his home town because a ‘hit’ had been put out on his head. If he returned he would be dead in 24 hours. Home was no longer safe. I remember listening to story and story of each refugee that came through. It opened my eyes to the hurt in this world, to the violence and how it affects those who are seeking to live peacefully and justly in this world.
This is the story of Jesus. As followers of Christ, if we are truly to follow Jesus’s quote: “What you do unto the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you do unto me,” then we welcome those seeking asylum in our lives as Egypt welcomed Mary, Joseph and Jesus. We listen deeply to their stories. We pray with them for healing – healing from loss, healing from violence, healing from exile.
In the Philadelphia area, we are blessed to have two mission partners working for immigration justice: Bethany Children's Home and New Sanctuary Movement.
Bethany Children’s Home has been engaged in the work of justice for unaccompanied minors. The Helping Hands program offers shelter unaccompanied children who have crossed our borders to enter the United States. These children are seeking to reunite with their families who reside in the United States. Many of these children are victims of human trafficking and/or have experienced significant hardship. The children are in need of a safe and appropriate shelter while seeking reunification with their family members so they can have the opportunity for a new beginning in the United States. Bethany Children’s Home previously reunited 188 children with their families. This program provides education in addition to healthcare, socialization/recreation, mental health services, case management and family reunification. The goal of the program is to reunify its new residents with family members or sponsors within a 30-day time period. The program is an extension of Bethany’s 156-year history of providing shelter and residential services for abused, neglected and abandoned children.
New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia emerged in 2007 when a group of clergy and organizers from the immigrant and ally communities began yearning for a bold, faith-rooted vision for immigrant justice. They build community across faith, ethnicity, and class in our work to end injustices against immigrants regardless of immigration status, express radical welcome for all, and ensure that values of dignity, justice, and hospitality are lived out in practice and upheld in policy. They work together to bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice and transform our communities into a place where immigrants, families, friends, and neighbors are safe, respected, and welcomed; where economic, spiritual, and emotional wholeness are realized; and where borders and divisions disappear as we build a community welcoming to everyone.
Although based in Philadelphia, NSM has done tremendous accompaniment work in the areas surrounding Philadelphia, especially York. Through your generous sponsorship, we can support Jesus as he seeks asylum in our country today! We believe in the powerful transformative work that NSM does and hope that you will help us make a difference in this community!
Through your generous donations, we can support Jesus as he seeks asylum in our country today! If you would like to support the work of immigration justice, please click on our donation button and designate it “Pilgrimage for Immigrant Justice.”
