Seeing Parellels between the Life of Christ and the Lives of Immigrants

I consider the parallels between the life of Christ and the lives of the immigrants.
Christ was born in the land of Judea, which was in southwestern Palestine. Warned of God to flee, He was taken to Egypt to escape Herod's killing him, then he returned across the border of that southern country into the southwestern part of Palestine. Many of the immigrants we now have coming up from the southern countries have Native American blood in them, making them Israelites, even as Christ descended from Jacob. I do not know where Lehi's colony landed. I've heard some say it was in California. I do not know. Early on, they were, like Christ's parents, warned to flee from their original spot, as the Lamanites were seeking to kill them. Did they move south? I do not know. But, I do know they are coming into the southwestern portion of the United States, which is considered God's land. Even so, Christ returned to the southwestern portion of God's land.

Christ was rejected all the time after he returned to Israel, even as the immigrants are rejected once they arrive in America. Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, spoke of having her reproach taken away. Mary, the mother of our Savior, spoke of how the Father had "regarded the low esteem of his handmaiden." Even so, we hold these immigrants in low regard. I think of how Christ was chased much of his life by the scribes and the Pharisees, so chased that he was forced into hiding, and "therefore walked no more openly." Even so, the immigrants are forced into hiding. One scripture tells us, speaking of Christ, "If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation." Even so, we are told that if we leave the immigrants alone and do not do something, they will become more numerous than us, and we will lose our place and our nation. They will destroy our country. Jesus once cast unclean spirits out of a man called Legion, and cast them into a herd of swine, and the swine ran over a cliff and were killed. And, when the people saw the man who had had the devils, and that he was with Christ, they became very afraid. Even so, we are afraid of the criminals among the immigrants today. Consider also that the swine running over the cliff must have been an economic loss for the people, even as we speak of the damage to our economy that the immigrants cause. And, consider that Christ was performing an act of charity and healing toward this man, Legion, even as we provide charitable care to the immigrants as they enter our hospitals and use our social net.. And, when the people heard the story of the man named Legion, and of the swine, "they began to pray him (Christ) to depart out of their coasts." Even so, for fear of the criminals among them, and for their obtaining our social services, and for their damaging us economically, we ask them to depart out of our land. Christ was eventually tried for his crimes, and found guilty of claiming to be that which they supposed He was not. It was considered blasphemy for Him to think He was the Son of God. The scripture reads, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Even so, we somewhat think it blasphemy for them to think they belong here in America, that they are equal to the Americans who are already here.

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   The spirit of hope is the spirit of life 

  With old age comes the fading of dreams, the fading of hope. Nary an old person has a dream for their future. Nary a one is still throwing open the window each morning, greeting the crow of the rooster with a shout of excitement for the day ahead. 

   No, dreams flee from the aged. They no longer speak of how some day, some way, they are going to do this or that. They no longer await the next horizon, but instead await the setting of the sun. 

   We cease to seize the moment, and instead we seize up.

   We lose our passions, and then we lose our lives. With the demise of hope, comes the demise of life. With no promising future, we soon cease to have a future at all.

   Death is the letting go of life. I will wonder, then, if it is not also the letting go of dreams. So, if you would live a long life, never quit dreaming.

  

Bravery 

makes for change. It is the fearful who cling to the status quo.

If you believe in America, you believe in letting them into America.

If you believe in justice, you believe in helping these people -- you believe in letting them into America.

If We Live by the Rules, Every Honduran Qualifies for Asylum

   What should give us pause, is that if we live by the rules, every Honduran qualifies for asylum in the United States.
   Oh, it is just my opinion -- yes -- but tell me if I am not right. Read one sentence from an entry in Wikipedia: "The country is the most deadly in the world for environmental activists."
 There are five categories, one of which a person must belong to to qualify for asylum: Race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, and social group.
   Political beliefs, you say?
   If Honduras is the most deadly place in the world for those who are environmentalists, then there is no country on earth from which environmentalists are more qualified for asylum.
   Why would not any environmentalist from Honduras not qualify for asylum, supposing asylum law is adjudicated in a fair and American way?
   And, do not think being an environmentalist is the only begging point. Not at all. In Honduras, the government has long been associated with crime. Now, pick up a current social media advertisement encouraging the people to flee to America:  "We're looking for refuge," it says. "In Honduras, we are being killed."
  Honduras is one of the deadliest places on earth.
  Now, if criminal rings are killing the people, and if the government is associated with the criminal rings, then why would it not be that you are fleeing political persecution? Why would not U.S. law mean hat you qualify for asylum in the U.S.?
  I pick up an online article from 2017 from Al Jazeera. "The life of Honduran people is at play in this election because we're in an economic crisis (and) the human rights violations by the government are increasing evident," says Kevin Ramos of the Association for Democracy and Human Rights.
   Simply put, if there is such a thing as a political refugee, how does anyone from Honduras not qualify? If they will kill you for disagreement over the environment, they can kill you for other political beliefs.
   The nation is one of the most dangerous in the Americas for journalists. Its indigenous people, its human rights defenders, and its social leaders have been attacked. There are assassinations and criminalization for political beliefs. Anyone who has a political belief running counter to that of one of the government or crime rulers is in danger.
   So, which will it be -- or both? Will we let them into America because of our compassion? Or will we let them in because our laws clearly qualify them as refugees?
   If we believe in our laws, and if we are a land of justice -- one that stands behind its laws -- we must let them in.

Let's Make a Movie Out of This

  "So, you can't get a job, I take it?" the owner of the hotel asked. "And, why might that be?"
   "I'm an illegal," the immigrant answered. "I am not an American. I'm from Mexico. I came here just to get a job -- thinking I surely could -- but now that I'm here, I find no one will let me work -- no one."
   The owner frowned.
  The immigrant looked up, desperation in his eyes. "Sir, I have no money. I cannot feed my family. Will you not please help me? Please, I beg of you!"
   The owner frowned some more.
   "Please, sir, please!"
   The owner's frown faded into pursed lips. His hands went up to his cheeks and he dragged them down his face. "No, I cannot give you a job," he said. "I've done it in the past -- I've given people like you jobs -- but, I can no longer do that."
   A tear dropped from the immigrant's eye.
   "I got caught," the owner said. "They fined me for hiring an illegal. They told me, if I do it again, the fine will be double."
  "But, please sir!" the immigrant cried. "You are my only hope! No one else will hire me! My family -- my children and my wife -- will you not help us?"
   "I cannot! I cannot!" the owner replied.
   Just then, a siren was heard. The flashing lights of a police car were seen. Two officers jumped out of a patrol car and entered the hotel. "You are both under arrest!" the first officer yelled.
   "You --you piece of filth -- for being in America illegally," said the other officer, and he pointed at the immigrant.
    "And, you?" he looked at the businessman. "I think we will arrest you for aiding and abetting a criminal. Oh, you are lucky you didn't go ahead and give him a job -- the fine would have been plenty. But, we aren't going to let you off the hook so easily. No, not after all the scum you've helped in the past and got away with. You are under arrest! You are under arrest! You are under arrest! How long have you known this man? He's a criminal, you know, and you didn't turn him in? That's harboring a refugee -- I mean, a fugitive."
   They proceeded to cuff the two men, being sure the cuffs were tight enough to scrape skin off their wrists.
   As they hauled the pair out to the car, the two officers broke into a laugh. "Okay, okay -- Just joking," said the first, looking directly into a camera. "It's all just a play -- just a movie. What, you thought we would really treat people like this?"
   The second officer looked at him, then at the camera. "Yeah?" he said. "Well, sometimes I think we come pretty close. I'm not so sure we don't."