All over the country this week people rallied and marched in opposition to nationwide attempts to makes the lives of illegal immigrants even more miserable than they already are. They pointed out that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants; excluding Native Americans and Native Pacific Islanders, immigrants and their descendants make up almost 99% of our population. The marchers noted that the vast majority of illegal aliens in this country work hard to support their families; they are here to make a better life for themselves, not commit crimes. Finally, some protesters pointed out that since many people think of America as a Christian nation, they should also realize that their God is not an American God but a God of all nations and all people. The Bible is full of stories about illegal immigrants. Abraham and his family left their homeland and traveled to Canaan, at least in part for economic reasons. When times got tough in Canaan, they emigrated to Egypt. I don't remember reading anything about Abraham having to get a work permit in either location. Naomi and her family were economic refugees (i.e., undocumented workers) in Moab during a famine in Israel. Paul said that all Christians should consider themselves aliens in this world, for their citizenship is in heaven. The biggest group of illegal aliens in the Bible was the group that followed Moses out of Egypt and later followed Joshua into the Promised Land. Our reading from Numbers today details one stage of that journey, describing their discontent with their living conditions and the suffering they experienced on their journey through the desert. We usually look at this story from the point of view of Moses, the man of God, of from God's point of view (i.e., why are these people complaining after all that God and Moses have done for them?), but what happens when we consider the people's point of view? They had lived a fairly miserable life for many years. They left Egypt in search of the Promised Land, only to find that they faced searing heat, drought, and poisonous snakes. When they got ready to enter the land of their dreams, they found that it was full of people who didn't want them there. In other words, they lived lives very similar to those of undocumented Mexicans or Salvadorans in the U.S. today. I met a young man last week in Honduras who walked all the way from his village in rural Honduras to the U.S. border in 2002. He crossed into the U.S. illegally and made his way to Detroit, where he worked for two or three years as a construction worker, sending money home to his family. He was eventually caught by "La Migra" and deported. When I asked him if he thought he would try to come to the U.S. again, he said quite simply, "Yes. There is no work for me here." Is it surprising to anyone that a young man from a village without electricity, sanitation facilities, or employment opportunities would cross mountains and deserts, brave guards with automatic rifles at the border, and endure the sneers of the prejudiced just to work for less than minimum wage in the U.S.? If you have seen his village, and I've visited it many times over the past several years, you don't ask the question, because you already know the answer. The rural setting, on the edge of the national forest is beautiful, but there are no prospects for work. Like the children of Israel, the undocumented are in our country in large numbers, and more of these Israelites come to the border every year, dying to get in--sometimes literally. Will we succumb to our fears and prejudices and block their entry into the Promised Land, like the Edomites and Canaanites did to the Israelites, or will we welcome them in the name of God to a land flowing with milk and honey, the same land that opened its arms to us and our immigrant ancestors?
For another discussion of this passage, click here.
When I was a young boy, we would sometimes have church services on Sunday night in which people from the congregation called out the number of their favorite hymn, and we would all sing the first and last verse of it. If someone called out number 318, "Count Your Blessings," we'd follow a slightly different procedure. After singing the first verse we'd sing the chorus, which says,
The music director would stop, and he'd invite people to stand and thank God for one blessing in their lives. One of most common things for which people thanked God was healing from illness, either for themselves or for a loved one. Illnesses, even minor ones, can leave a person feeling miserable and separated from all the good things of life. The psalmist provides a good description of illness in Psalm 107. The sick person feels afflicted, doesn't want to eat, and sometimes even fears she is near death. I haven't ever really worried about being near death when I've been sick, but I have felt like I'd have to get better just to die! When we recover from our illness, we really feel great, like we're on top of the world. The psalmist reminds us that the time of recovery is a perfect opportunity to praise God. We have so much to be thankful for, more than we could ever deserve. Take a few minutes this week to "count your many blessings, see what God has done," and praise God for them.Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done! Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done!
For another discussion of this passage, click here.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." I've never understood the "holier-than-thou attitude" that some people have, perfectly exemplified by Hilary Faye (played by Mandy Moore) in the movie Saved! Hilary tries her best to be the perfect teenaged Christian, and she sees it as her job to "save" all those who have not yet seen the light. For those who are simply backsliding, she calls a prayer meeting--very publicly--and asks the others to pray for them. In my favorite scene in the movie, after Hilary's efforts to convert some friends has less than stellar results, she gets mad and throws her Bible at one of them, screaming, "I'm FILLED with the love of Christ!" What Hilary doesn't understand at this point in the movie is that she is just as much in need of God's grace and forgiveness as the "heathen" kids she's trying to save. We all are. Several years ago I wrote a song whose chorus is based on another passage that talks about grace, John 1:14.
With Peter in prison they watched and prayed. Their faith, it was feeble, they were so afraid. But God sent his angel to save him that day-- Jesus the Lamb of God. (chorus) For of his fullness we all have received And grace upon grace to meet every need. When we have troubles his blood we can plead-- Jesus the Lamb of God. Satan attacked the Lord's churches so young. They suffered and cried at the evil he'd done. But God spoke through John, "The vict'ry's been won," by Jesus the Lamb of God. (chorus) For of his fullness we all have received And grace upon grace to meet every need. When we have troubles his blood we can plead-- Jesus the Lamb of God. On Golgotha's mountain the Innocent died. He bled for our sins, he was bruised for our pride. Our penalty's paid, for "It's finished!" he cried-- Jesus the Lamb of God. (chorus) For of his fullness we all have received And grace upon grace to meet every need. When we have troubles his blood we can plead-- Jesus the Lamb of God.". . . and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--not of works, so that no one can boast."
For another discussion of this passage, click here.
"Cut off his head!" said Afghan Muslim cleric Abdul Raoulf. "We will call on the people to pull him into pieces so there's nothing left." Said Mirhossain Nasri, a top Shiite imam in Kabul, said, "If he is allowed to live in the West, then others will claim to be Christian so they can, too. We must set an example. . . . He must be hanged." What could have incited these so-called men of God to spew forth so much hatred against a fellow countryman? Had he been accused of orchestrating suicide bombings of civilians? Had he been working in secret to bring the Taliban back to power? Had he massacred his family in a fit of rage? None of the above. Abdul Rahman's only "crime" is that he converted to Christianity more than a decade ago while he was living and working in Germany. "It's an insult to God!" raved a particularly vehement opponent of Rahman. No, such hatred of a fellow human being is an insult to God and is unworthy of a man or woman who claims to be a follower of God. It's even worse to find such sentiments in one acclaimed as a religious leader. When religious leaders behave in such a fashion, is there any doubt that their followers will not behave any better? Of course, such satanic attitudes are not shared by the majority of the world's Muslims, nor are Muslims the only ones afflicted by hate-mongers in their midst. American-born terrorist Timothy McVeigh thought of himself as a Christian, as does the gay-hating pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, Fred Phelps. You may be interested to know that, according to his Web site godhatesfags.com, Phelps is an equal-opportunity hater, who also hates Sweden, George W. Bush, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the people of New Orleans, and--yes--America itself, just to name a few. Where do the Fred Phelps and Abdul Raoulfs of the world get their perverse views about God? In today's reading from perhaps the best-known section of the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." God loves the world; it is only fallen humans who teach hatred. The tragic thing is that they teach hatred in the name of God. People as filled with hatred as these cannot be reached by reason, but only by the love of God shown to them by a person of faith. We've all heard stories of people who turned from their extreme racism or homophobia when they realized that the people who were the objects of their hatred were just people like they were, created in the image of God. Hatred is a big problem in the world, in Christian nations as well as Muslim nations, and in all others as well. As Christians, it is our duty to remind others who take on themselves the name of Christ that "God so loves the world," yesterday, today, and forever.
For another discussion of this passage, click here.