Christianity is built on an awareness that humans can be cruel and self-serving. Indeed, we often act in such a manner. Simply operating by justice, humans would probably be wiped out if we always got what we deserve. The insight of Christianity is that God transcends the demands of justice and operates by the law of mercy. God is willing to give us the grace that we don’t deserve and preserve us from the consequences of what we do deserve. This isn’t due to anything we have done but is the direct and immediate result of God’s love for us. It is an act of divine mercy. Christ’s death and resurrection is the highest expression of God’s mercy. St. Paul challenges us to become more Christ-like, as this is our purpose as human beings. This means that we are called to be living manifestations of God’s mercy.
What does it mean to be merciful?
It means letting go of past hurts and offenses. It means forgiving those who have hurt you. It means giving people a second, third and seventieth chance. It means having hope when there is little reason for hope. It means a greater emphasis on the good of people, rather than on a blind adherence to rules. Rules are meant to serve the common good not do damage to individual people.
So, how can we apply all of this to the issue of immigration, particularly in the CNMI? It is probably a fact of life that in the 21st century we are not going to roll back the clock to some long-lost time of cultural isolation. We need to find ways to preserve the values and practices that are essential to our cultural identity and sense of self. Yet, we live in a world that brings us into contact with other ethnic communities more and more. These communities have the same desire to maintain their cultural identity and sense of self. Rather than seeing these communities as competitors or as threats to our cultural identity, we need to dialogue with them. We need to begin to understand one another and begin to see the world from their perspective and allow them to see the world from our perspective as well. We don’t need to adopt their perspective as our own but by understanding their perspective we can begin to appreciate what motivates their dreams, hopes and actions. We need less polarization and more mutual appreciation.
We discussed some of the negatives of globalization and the importation of contract workers earlier in this reflection. These negatives harm both the contract worker who is alone and far away from home, who can be taken advantage of by some employers and who is earning relatively low wages; as well as the host community that must deal with the strained infrastructure, increased social pressures and changing demographics of the community. It is the poor and the marginal in both communities that tend to bear the brunt of the negatives. We are not going to eliminate the change that is part of any living society but we can focus on making that change more positive and less damaging to those most directly and negatively impacted by the change.
One of the most important passages in Scripture is Matthew 25. This is the passage that describes the Last Judgment. The Lord invites some of the gathered humans to enter the Kingdom of God and the others he sends to Hell. What are the criteria by which the Lord decides who goes where? Is it how much they donated to the Church? Is it how smart they were? Is it how powerful or famous they were? Is it how wealthy they were? Is it whether they voted Republican or Democrat? Is it whether they were of a particular race or ethnic group? Is it whether they were male or female? The answer to these possibilities is a resounding “NO!” The only criteria the Lord offers is how merciful they were. Did they feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, console those in grief? God is the Lord of mercy. If we are to enter the Kingdom of God we need to be merciful to those around us, especially the most vulnerable and least powerful among us; the least of our brothers and sisters.
It is important to control the number of outside workers entering the CNMI, to protect the local community from being overwhelmed, these outside contract workers are our guests while they are here. They should be treated respectfully and with the same care that we offer to our citizens. In Biblical times hospitality was one of the most important virtues. You had an obligation to welcome the stranger and to protect him or her while they were in your midst. Failure to do this was a grave sin. While not emphasize as much as it was in the past, the Christian who takes the Bible seriously knows that he or she is expected to honor the demands of hospitality and to develop it as a virtue in their life, home and community.
The Christian tradition does not deny that difficult and complex situations can arise in a society. Over time, guided by Gospel principles, the Christian tradition has learned to seek the common good but with respect and concern for the human person caught up in these circumstances. The government has the right to enforce the immigration laws that are in place. However, justice demands that these laws be fair and mercy demands that the enforcement of the laws considers the circumstances of the individuals involved. This applies to the immigration rules in the CNMI, as well as at the national and international levels.
On the broad issue of immigration, Pope Francis has expressed grave concern on several points. First, he reminds the faithful often that nations must be open to the refugee who is fleeing his or her homeland because their life is in danger from war or famine. The refugee would rather stay in his homeland but cannot. There is a moral obligation to care for and assist the refugee that must not be ignored by a Christian. There is a very human tendency to feel sorry for the person who is suffering, such as the refugee, but to say “not in my back yard” if authorities are trying to find a place for the refugee. As Christians, we must overcome this tendency and open our community to the refugee. Again, there are limits to which any community can accommodate others without being overwhelmed and those limits must be respected, but there needs to be a willingness to help to the extent we are able.
Another major concern of Pope Francis is that families not be split up, whether the immigration is forced on people, as with refugees, or it is a voluntary immigration for work and better economic opportunities, it is important to keep families together.