Tag: Thanksgiving

Defending the Immigrant: Thanksgiving, Father Abraham, and Brother Jesus

The recent election reveals a lot about us in this country. Polls show that immigration was one of the most important issues and that up to half of our population would like to see millions of undocumented immigrants deported. If you are in favor of this massive deportation, I write this brief article with the hope of changing your mind. I appeal to your conscience, your sense of integrity, and if you are a religious person, your understanding of Biblical teaching.

Let’s begin with Thanksgiving. According to our national folklore, the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. Members of the Wampanoag indigenous people shared food (venison, bass, mussels) with the pilgrims. Whether it occurred exactly in this way is not that important for this post. What is important to remember is that on the eve of the European colonization of the Americas (by the Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and others), these lands were under the stewardship of the indigenous people tribes. Not many Europeans asked the indigenous leaders for “permission” to occupy and settle in the land. In other words, they were “illegal” or “undocumented” immigrants, although they tried to justify their actions by affirming “manifest destiny” or other religious arguments. Others claimed that although their government was wrong, they were individually innocent. Over the next centuries, treaties were made…, and frequently broken. The result was that almost the totality of the land previously under the stewardship of indigenous people was taken by Europeans and their descendants. I am a descendant of those European colonists and a beneficiary of that unjust land takeover. Most of my fellow citizens are in a similar situation. It would be hypocrisy for me to glory in this pursuit of the “American Dream” of my predecessors and to deny other immigrants that same opportunity.

Our national history regarding immigrants has been quite checkered. Protestant immigrants from western or northern nations of Europe have been very privileged. Others, not quite so much. At various times, Italians, Poles, Jews, the Irish, Mexicans, the Chinese, and others have been scapegoated, as if they were the cause of all our country’s ills (as claimed today). Some suffered outright persecution and deportation. Of course, the capture and enslavement of Africans was our nation’s most horrific evil committed against foreigners. If we were honest, we would confess our national sins against immigrants.

Now, let’s turn to the Scriptures. “Father Abraham” is recognized as the founding patriarch of the three great monotheistic religions in our world: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to the sacred texts, God called Abraham to leave his father’s house to go to a distant land (Genesis 12). He became an immigrant “par excellence”. God told Abe that those who welcomed and blessed him would also receive the Lord’s blessing. Along the way, Abe made many mistakes. (Like some contemporary immigrants, Abe told some lies to save his own skin.) Nevertheless, people in other countries forgave him and blessed him… and Abraham became a blessing to others, just like God had promised.

Some will say that God’s promise to Abraham was quite specific and does not apply to immigrants today. Not true… at least not for those who want to follow the God of the Bible. The Scriptures tell us that all people, including all immigrants, are made in God’s image, and therefore, have immense value. Because immigrants are frequently subject to mistreatment (just like orphans and widows), God defends them and provides them with special protections (Leviticus 25:35, Deuteronomy 14:29, the entire book of Ruth the immigrant, and Malachi 3:5). The Lord Jesus is even more radical in his teaching: “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me… what you have done to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you have done to me” (Matthew 25:31-46). The way we treat an immigrant is, in fact, how we treat Jesus himself.

How should we treat the millions of undocumented immigrants in our midst? The overwhelming majority of them are working in gainful employment. Our economy, especially the agricultural and construction sectors, needs immigrant labor. It would suffer greatly if millions of immigrants were deported. Undocumented parents would be separated from their children, many of which are U.S. born citizens. A good solution would be to follow the contours of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, carved out by President Reagan and Congress. Let them regularize their legal status, pay a penalty, continue in their jobs, and most importantly, keep their families intact. A good first step would be to increase the pathways for legal immigration.

Let’s do better in the future than we have in the past!

When the Giving of Thanks is a Sham

Thousands of years ago, there was a Rabbinic blessing that the Jewish rabbis would recite every morning.  ¨Blessed are you, O God, for making me a Jew, and not a Gentile, free and not a slave, a man and not a woman.¨ Although clothed in religious language, this ¨blessing¨ covered up some of the national and social prejudices of the time. In other words, their giving of thanks was a sham. In their specific context, Gentiles, slaves and women had inferior places in society. The free, male rabbis were thankful that they were the ¨winners¨ in their social context. Down through the ages, people have protested, fought wars, made speeches, taught classes in favor of the equality of all humans. We have come a long way…but we still have a long, long way to go.

The racial prejudice, machismo, and social sins of previous generations are quite evident to us today, who are the ¨enlightened¨ ones. Nevertheless, we have our own biases. In our politically divided United States, most of our citizens are clearly in one of two camps. Almost all areas of life: voting, Covid vaccines and mask wearing, education/PTA meetings, the Supreme Court and even our churches are increasingly politicized and polarized. Most of us are arrogantly thankful that we are morally superior to those in the other group. It comes across in the way we talk about people on the other side.  ¨All Democrats are baby killers¨ or ¨All Republicans are racists¨ even though these affirmations are obviously exaggerated and false. These exaggerations are shameful and shamful.  Many in the middle are increasingly frustrated with both sides.

I am not a moral relativist. All options are not ethically equal. Truth is important and so is distinguishing right from wrong. I am happy when I shed morally or intellectually inferior options in order to choose better ones. But these wise decisions are accompanied by the temptation of pride. That pride and arrogance are dangerous for us individually and as a nation. Therefore, I recommend the following suggestions for my/our interaction with those on the other side.

Before, during and after we critique others, we must remember that

  1. All of my ¨opponents and rivals¨ are as important as I am.
  2. I must appreciate and recognize the aspects of goodness and truth in positions that I reject.
  3. I need to be rigorously honest in my use of information about others and about my side.

Let us go forward in truth and grace.