Exodus 23: 9 and Matthew 25: 35,36

Exodus 23: 9 and Matthew 25: 35,36

Ex 23:9 You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Mt 25:35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,

36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'

Migrant worker falls to death from 9^th floor in Chrompet, Chennai, Times of India.

Introduction : Bible- The book of Migrants

Bible can be considered as the book of Migrants which consist of incidents related to migration right from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible gives narrative about the life of the ‘MIGRANTS’ as both oppressors and the oppressed. When the Israelites lived as migrants in Egypt, they were treated as slaves. The pyramids built with the sweat and blood of the Israelites by the Egyptian kings stand as symbols of an ancient civilization. This is an example to the symbols of today’s development too, built with sweat and blood of millions of distress-driven migrant workers in many countries including India.

In this light, I would like to focus my reflection on these read verses, from the perspective of migrants. This reflection is divided into 3.  I would like to entitle my reflection as

1. God’s anger against the oppressors

During the journey of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the land of canaan, they were attacked by various tribes  who lived in the land passed through, suspecting that they came to invade their land. Therefore, when they conquered canaan and settled there, Moses instructed them to treat kindly the Migrants who will be found in the land they live. The laws of Moses, although allowed separate treatment to the Israelites and ‘the Migrants’ contained many instructions to ensure food security and human dignity to the ‘Migrants’. Reminding the Israelites that God has liberated them from slavery in Egypt, Moses instructed them to ensure the means of living and dignity of the ‘migrants’ among them. But, they disobeyed God in this regard. As a punishment for this, God allowed the Assyrians and Judea Babylonians to invade Israel and Judea and to take away many of them as captives in foreign lands. Still, when the Assyrians and Babylonians overlords who lived in Israel and Judea oppressed the people there, the elites among the Israelites joined hands with the foreign oppressors. When the captives in Assyria and Babylon repented for the sins of their forefathers, God gave them freedom and blessings to go back their land. When they came back their leader Nehemiah was pained to see that the rich and the elites in Israel worked with the foreign oppressors to add the oppression of the poor Israelites. These stories remained us God’s anger against the oppressors of the people on the one hand; and against the liberated who oppress and ill-treated the poor and powerless ‘migrants’ and the poor who live among them on the other, everywhere all the time.

2. Jesus was a Migrant

Recently I came across a book called Jesus was a Migrant written by Deirdre Cornell, it deeply inspired me to look Jesus itself as a Migrant. The Judeo-Christian tradition holds a rich treasury of memories in which the journey of God’s chosen people is shaped by individual and collective migrations.  Jesus belonged to a people marked by stories of Exodus and Exile.  His life and ministry are framed by these narratives.  When we read the gospels, we can clearly say that Jesus never settled or stayed in a particular place for a long time. He always moves. His ministry also moves like a river.

Matthew (in 8:20) quotes Jesus as saying, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”. John 14:6 mentions Jesus himself is the way. Being at home with Christ does not means residence in a particular place.  Being at home with Jesus means coming to the Father.  Being at home with him means living in the reign of God. Jesus embraced the Father at the same time Jesus embraced the marginalized too.  In his final stages of public ministry, Jesus undertakes the journey to Jerusalem, becoming the Passover Lamb, who sets us free, as well.  Christ chose to live in the Exodus... Thus Jesus itself was a Migrant but he could rescue us from Exile.

3. Jesus’ embraced the Migrants

Being a Migrant, The main thrust of Jesus teaching was inclusion of those who are marginalized, discriminated and ill-treated like ‘migrants’, widows and orphans-in the reign of God. Jesus thought that only those who extend a help to the marginalized people will be allowed to enter their reign of God. Jesus describes how God distinguishes the righteous from the non righteous: “then the king will say to the people on his right,…’come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever sins the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger/migrant and you received me in your home, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me (mt.25:35-36). That suggests us that Judgement is based upon the kindness shown to all who are needy – the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the migrants, etc...

Likewise in Exodus 23:9, Humane Treatment of migrants is mentioned there, The law safeguards the basic human rights of migrants in the land and prohibits oppressing migrants.  The Israelites know what it feels like to be migrants and so the Lord appeals to their memory and compassion as God commands them to treat the migrants among them kindly and fairly.

Jesus calls us to treat ‘migrants’-the migrant workers who live and work among us today as are our brothers and sisters. This call is to be taken seriously as the number of migrant workers is going everywhere. Jesus Christ teaches us to embrace the Migrants.

Embracing the Migrants - Theological Reflection

Millions of migrants in the form of war, development and ecological damage-driven and economic distress-driven migrant workers are big problems today that necessitate our response by re-looking our concerns towards the sufferings of these people. Since the end of the last century, millions of migrant workers driven by economic distress move to distant places in India to lead their lives better than before. They are forced to take up dangerous work for long hours without proper rest and reasonable wages. They work and live in unfriendly situations where the language, food and ways of life are quite alien to them, and where the local people treat them as dangerous people and criminals. They are people without civic and human rights, identities and addresses and denied of social security schemes of the government.

We can come across various migrant workers in all the developmental sites in metro cities. Especially in cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, etc...   News like Migrant worker falls to death from 9^th floor in Chrompet, Chennai, shocks us that they don’t even have the proper safety to work in an unknown place. Their lives are not considered to be equal to the lives of others.  They suffer a lot to eat, sleep and even work.  They get less wages when compared to the local workers and the injustices happening to them goes on.

Of course, Migrants are not statistics, they are people.  And like all human beings, they too possess rights and responsibilities.  Thus Embracing the Migrants invites us to grow in

1. solidarity, 2. awareness and 3. hospitality.  As God’s people it’s our responsibility to show solidarity, give awareness and embrace them with hospitality to include migrants too in the Reign of God. Let us embrace the Migrants as our Jesus, a migrant thought us to. Amen.