By Paul Graves | FāVS News Columnist
Across the country, a good many Nativity scenes outside churches of many denominations have caused important political controversy. At a Catholic Church in Dedham, Massachusetts, all the supporting characters surround the manger, but Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus are gone. In their place is a boldly-printed sign, “ICE WAS HERE.”
Variations of politically-charged nativity scenes abound. Many people cheer this. Homeland Security officials are pushing back with a predictably self-justifying narrative.
Also predictably, people seem dumb-founded that “politics” is present in the Christmas story. Please don’t be surprised. Read the Gospels more closely. You might want to believe Jesus had nothing to do with politics. But it’s simply not true!
Even in utero, Jesus was political. When pregnant Mary visited her cousin, Elizabeth (pregnant with John the Baptist), Luke 1:46-55 shares what we know as the Magnificat, Mary’s “my soul magnifies the Lord.” But it is much more than simple praise.
It is also prophetic. It boldly speaks of God’s vision as Mary declared the kind of social justice ministry she expects her son to embody.
So Jesus’ ministry really began in the womb; and was even lived out in a unique way before he was 2. Matthew 2:13-19 tells how Jesus and his parents became refugees to Egypt as they escaped from the fury of Herod the Great. Herod looked frantically for this new King but couldn’t find him. So he cruelly began to have all boys under 2 years of age killed.
We have no record of what refugee life was like for Joseph, Mary and Jesus in Egypt. But life for all people in Egypt must have been incredibly hard.
At least the holy family was safe from the horrors of Herod. They sought some kind of “refugia,” a wonderful word that reflects “safe shelter.”
I particularly appreciate the way that The Message Bible translated the last part of verse 13: “Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.” “On the hunt” is chillingly close to what we’ve watched happen in so many cities today, when ICE agents look to fill their monthly quotas of capturing and deporting people. Cruel and chilling!
It matters little, if at all, that so many of these persons aren’t the “worst of the worst.” Even U.S. citizens in good standings are targeted. A form of Herod-fury has taken hold of our federal government.
I strongly suspect a most toxic form of Christian nationalism gives many ICE agents a distorted sense of permission to pretend “their god” approves of their horrid tactics. Fortunately, I see and read about so many people standing up to those ICE agents and the disrespectful, destructive Trumpian administration practices.
I’m inspired by their courage!
On Dec. 12, a reported 1,600 students from Hillsboro, Oregon, high schools and middle schools marched in protest of those policies and actions.
I’ve no idea which of those students were motivated by some faith tradition. But I’m confident they were motivated by a mix of fear for targeted friends and families, plus a deep respect for the human dignity all people deserve and embody. I’m eager to hear some of their stories.
Perhaps they were even partially moved by Mary’s Magnificat vision: God scatters the proud in their conceit, casts the mighty from their thrones, lifts up the humblest of persons, fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away without their riches.
I saw these young people symbolically marching to Egypt as refugees. They sought refugia, safe shelter — if not for themselves, then for others who honestly need it. Refugees need companions on their journey too.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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Thank you Paul, for this reminder of how the nativity of Jesus, and what leads up to it, and what follows, was and remains a political call to care for the homeless, the refugee, the oppressed, the poor. Even a simple traditional nativity scene is a humble reminder of all this.
I do have issues with this view. Mary, Joseph and Jesus were not refugees in the sense we want to portray them. Yes, they were fleeing from sever persecution, but the emphasis should be on how God provided, not how government provides or doesn’t provide. (The Bible puts that onus on us as individuals, not the government.)
God, through the gifts given by the Persian dignitaries, gave the Holy family all they needed to survive, simply, not luxuriously, as guests in a foreign country that paid their own way. Joseph may or may not have worked, according to expectations of the host country. They were not hiding from Egyptian authorities.
What is happening now is backlash for OUR (we need to take ownership of it) government NOT doing its job, congress not doing their job of clear guidelines (tacit approval for executive orders) and fiscal support to do the job of detaining, vetting and giving every person their day in court BEFORE giving them admittance to our home.
I have just as much compassion for ICE as for the ones they target.
They are doing their job. The same job I did when serving this country in Vietnam that killed people that just wanted to survive. The same job that requires police to jail one person in every domestic violence call. They are following the rules we (yes, you and me, through our elected representatives) gave them. Mob rule are the law breakers if they, the demonstrators, do NOT restrain those that would commit acts of violence.
Our job (only one job) as Christians is to make disciples of Christ from people of every tribe, tongue, nation, culture, class and ethnicity. Not by rules and force (Christian Nationalism which will give us another French Revolution), bribery or coercion, but we draw them by our love. We become the people that others want to be like. People that love the stranger by inviting them into our homes and caring for them AND obeying the civil laws (that do not require who, if or how we worship), whether we like them or not. (We have legal ways to change our laws without demonstration or protest that can easily evolve into violence and destruction.)
Choosing sides just divides us more which leads to us vs. them. Neither side winning. And an inability to evangelize (demonstrate Christ’s love) as Christ has given us the duty to do.