Reflections 2006
Refugee and Migrant Sunday

On Sunday 20 August the Church in Melbourne observes Refugee and Migrant Sunday. At the 2nd Vatican Council, the bishops of the Catholic Church declared that “the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.” In his message for the 92nd World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Benedict XVI identified today’s large scale movements of migrants and refugees as just such a ‘sign of the times.’ And so it is incumbent upon us to reflect upon these movements in the light of the gospel.

When we look at migration through the eyes of faith we see the people of God throughout its history.

We see Abraham who was told by God to leave his father’s home and go to a land which he would show him (Genesis 12:1). Yet Abraham lived only with the promise of a homeland – he never saw its realisation.

We see Jacob the father of the people of Israel whom they themselves described as a “wandering Aramean.” (Deuteronomy 26:5)

We see Moses leading Israel through the wilderness for 40 years, feared and rejected by all the nations around them – and at war with the nations of the land of Canaan where they were to settle.

Centuries later, the people of Judah were exiled to Babylon. God told them to settle down and build homes there, to seek the welfare of their new country and to pray for it because “in its welfare you will find your own welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7)

Following the exile to Babylon, the Jewish people were scattered throughout the nations, so that when St Paul went on his missionary journeys, he found established Jewish communities in every city to which he went. It is almost as if, by these migrations of his people, God were preparing the world to receive the gospel.

From this brief overview we can see that migrations – whether undertaken willingly or as a result of war and displacement that follows from war – play a part in God’s plan for both individuals and for nations.

Again when we look at migration through the eyes of faith we ask ourselves how should we receive migrants and refugees when they come to our homeland and wish to make their home in our home.

Jesus himself says to us “I was a stranger and you made me welcome.” (Matthew 25:35) He meant that whenever we show hospitality to strangers it is as if we’re showing that hospitality to him. And indeed it is not hard to see the face of Jesus in those who are homeless or without a homeland.

In their own ways each of the gospel writers emphasises that Jesus was a foreigner where ever he went. Luke tells us that he was born in a town that was not his own. There was “no room for him” at the inn, so his mother laid him in a manger. Matthew tells us that with St Joseph and his mother, Jesus became a refugee in Egypt. Thus in the life of Jesus – God’s incarnate Son – we see the same pattern of wandering and homelessness that we see in God’s “son” Israel, as St Matthew says quoting a prophecy from Hosea: “Out of Egypt I have called my Son.” (Matthew 2:15)

Jesus himself says: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8: 20) St John describes it in another way. He writes that Jesus “was in the world, …but the world did not know him; he came to his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:10-11)

This reflects the status of the people of the New Covenant also. For like Christ we are in the world “but not of the world.” (John 17:14) The writer to the Hebrews says of Christians: “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14) The Apostles had a strong sense wherever they went of being guests, so that they frequently stressed the virtue of hospitality. This is put most strongly in the encouragement: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)

Receiving a foreigner, showing hospitality to the stranger, therefore arises out of an understanding that migrants and refugees share something of the nature of Christ and of his people.

Migrants and refugees also remind us of the universality of the Church. Migration has long been a concern of the Church precisely because those involved – while belonging to many different geographical and ethnic communities – nevertheless are a part of the one community of the Church.

The Church in Australia has especially benefited from the migrations that have enriched our communities. Following the early migrations of Irish, English and Scottish Catholics, our communities have been enriched by Germans, Italians, Poles and others from Eastern Europe. In addition today there are many in our Catholic Church from Asia, the Middle East and the Subcontinent.

Like the infant church at Pentecost, Catholics in Melbourne worship in a multiplicity of languages. By extending hospitality to these communities the Catholic Church in Australia has come to mirror the characteristics of the universal Church.

Of course these days many migrants and refugees who come to us are not Catholic or for that matter Christian. But this does not mean we show them any less hospitality. The Church is also concerned with the human development of these people and seeks to witness to them with Christian charity. Part of the process of hospitality means being ready to invite the newcomer into the process of dialogue. As people come from many different social and cultural backgrounds we regard it as our particular task to help immigrants find their place in their new country.

On 1 June 2004, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference released a statement called ‘Having Faith in our Democracy.’ In a section called ‘Building a Culture of Hospitality,’ the Bishops said:

“Australia is a country of immigrants. The Church is firmly committed to the biblical value of welcoming the stranger. While we recognise the need for effective border control, we…need to treat migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in a way that respects their human dignity.”

So let us learn to see the phenomenon of large-scale migrations and movements of refugees a ‘sign of the times’ to which we can respond from the perspective of faith. Let us remember in our prayers those who seek a homeland and somewhere to call their own, those who work with migrants and refugees and those who make the laws regarding them. And let us always be ready to see in the face of the migrant and refugee the face of Jesus and to respond with true charity and love.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne