God closes doors sometimes to protect us from danger, He may not always open another door but He always does it for our good. But when we shut doors on our fellow beings, we begin to play God and in doing so we choose whom to keep in and whom to keep out. We take justice into our own hands and measure how much justice someone deserves, and how less we ought to mete it out to someone else.
When Jesus looks at the displaced migrant today, walking home hundreds of kilometers in the blazing heat, barefoot, without food and water He genuinely understands their predicament, for He too was born under such circumstances. He spent his infancy hidden in Egypt as a refugee and a migrant. He traveled from Bethlehem to Egypt to Galilee, these weren’t small distances especially when you consider it was made on the back of a gentle donkey or by walk. He never knew when or where his next meal would come from. Jesus understood the migrant situation.
“When Jesus looks at the displaced migrant today, walking home hundreds of kilometers in the blazing heat, barefoot, without food and water He genuinely understands their predicament, for He too was born under such circumstances.”
Today any discussion on migrants tends to refer to them as they, the term itself is loaded with derogatory references as the other. But make no mistake, they are the ones who make our city and lives, they wash our dishes, press our clothes, fix our cars, wait on us at eat-outs, fix our water filters at home and work, drive us to work and even ferry our favorite meals to our homes through a few clicks on mobile. They do things we don’t want to and because of them, our life is better.
“The situation in our land today does not reflect true justice. However, Jesus in His words made it explicitly clear that we cannot claim to love God and be indifferent to the needs of our neighbor.”
The situation in our land today does not reflect true justice. However, Jesus in His words made it explicitly clear that we cannot claim to love God and be indifferent to the needs of our neighbor. We cannot shut the door on the plight of those in need. When we open our doors to a stranger, we open it to the work of God through us, as it says “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” So, what do we do? reach out your hand to them in aid, uphold them in prayer, and if the situation arises welcome them with open arms. For in the face of each migrant we find the “image” of God. Let us recognize that little bit of Jesus in every migrant, just as there was the migrant in Jesus.
Our Daily Masala 