Refugees

"You were once aliens yourselves." Ex 22:20

Widows, orphans and aliens have always been important in the scriptures. God demands that his chosen people care for the most vulnerable so that the poor can take their proper place in the society. God is not asking us to create what some contemporary writers call a welfare society, but a church and world in which all people, especially those who can easily be forgotten, have a voice in determining their own future. The American Bishops say it this way:

The primary purpose of this special commitment to the poor is to enable them to become active participants in the life of society. It is to enable all persons to share in and contribute to the common good. The "option for the poor," therefore, is not an adversarial slogan that pits one group or class against another. Rather it states that the deprivation and powerlessness of the poor wounds the whole community. (Economic Justice)

Not much has changed in today's world or in our country. Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, responding to the Trump administration's threat to repeal DACA, (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) wrote, “It would be a tragedy to cancel DACA and declare these 800,000 young people ‘illegal’ and begin deporting them...They did not make the decision to enter this country in violation of our laws, and in fairness, we cannot hold them accountable. America is the only country they know, and the vast majority are working hard to make their own contribution to the American dream.” We can never ignore the voice of the poor.

Today, pray for migrants everywhere.

What do you think our church should do to aid refugees around the world?