Gifts from Foreigners
The gospel
reading for Epiphany, celebrated by Christians on January 6th of each year, tells the story of the wise men visiting the infant Jesus.
Wise men is a convenient euphemism;
these magi who traveled without passports were actually foreign astrologers. For
a contemporary analogue, imagine a handful of illegal immigrants from Central
or South America who establish a palmistry or tarot business in New York or
Washington. Although imperfect, like any analogy, that image may help us to
move beyond romantic idealizations that distort the gospel’s power and message.
Tradition asserts
that the wise men brought three gifts: gold, myrrh, and frankincense. Illegal
immigrants from Central and South America bring gifts of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh as well. The gold – a gift for the newborn king, Jesus – these
immigrants bring is their willingness to work long hours at low paying, labor-intensive,
tedious jobs most U.S. citizens disdain. This labor translates into a gift of
affordable yet substantial improvements in the quality of life for many U.S
citizens.
The myrrh – a
spice used for embalming recognizes Jesus’ humanity – that many of these
immigrants bring is their example of sacrificing self for family. Men, women,
and children come to the States and work for minimal wages, then send substantial
sums home to support the family left behind. The immigrant ekes out an
existence on the remainder, often unable to visit the family whom they support for
years at a time. In our culture of rugged, self-reliant individualism, the gift
of that example vividly incarnates true family values.
The
frankincense – incense burned at a god's altar emphasized Jesus’ identity as
God's son – that these immigrants give to this nation is affirmation. The
continuing stream of illegal immigrants who risk limb and life to come to the
States affirms that the dream and promise of this nation built on life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not dead.
If immigrants
symbolize the wise men, then by implication the U.S. symbolizes the Christ
child. And that is the analogy’s fatal flaw. The United States is a great and
often good nation. But the United States is not the new Israel, the nation of
God's own choosing to bring salvation to the world. A dangerous idolatry of
self-serving nationalism too often permeates U.S. Christianity.
In fact, the
entire analogy builds upon an even more fundamental error. Most of the illegal
immigrants who come north to the United States are only foreigners if you and I
take our primary identity from being U.S. citizens. In Holy Baptism, we died
and we were reborn as citizens of God's kingdom. That citizenship, not
nationality, should define our identity.
Most of the
illegal immigrants from Central and South America have also received the
Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Thus, they are not foreigners. They are family. Like
us, they are Jesus’ brothers and sisters, which means that they are our
brothers and sisters.
Illegal
immigration raises a web of complex problems that lack simple answers. Christianity
does offer some guidance for our nation, our Churches, and each of us. Even as
Joseph used Egypt’s prosperity to feed many in time of famine, so the U.S.
should use its unparalleled prosperity to help others raise their standard of
living. Christian Scripture and tradition teach the Church to care for the poor
and sick, especially for members of Christ's body. The Christian vocation is to
practice hospitality towards strangers, not to build fences to keep the
stranger at a safe distance.
This
Epiphany, give gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense to some of the least
amongst us, the many illegal immigrants in our city. Gold represents the
necessities of life; myrrh signifies recognizing the humanity, dignity, and
worth of each immigrant; frankincense reminds us that by giving these gifts we
may unknowingly entertain angels or even minister to the Christ himself.
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