Sunday, December 8, 2024
Bar 5:1-9 | Phil 1:4-6, 8-11 | Lk 3:1-6
A voice proclaims: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! -Isaiah 40:3
A voice of one crying out in the desert … What is the prophet Isaiah trying to say to his people? For those of us who have had the opportunity to meet migrants and refugees who leave their homelands in hope for a new place to live, this reading speaks volumes.
It has a special resonance for those of us who have been to the U.S.-Mexico border, where hundreds of thousands of desperate people have literally “cried out in the desert,” turning to their God, their Savior. “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the Salvation of God!”
Consider for a moment the plight of migrants, who believe that, of every conceivable action, their best option is to make the dangerous and expensive journey, by bus, by train, or by foot, through Colombia, Central America, and Mexico, through the infamous jungle Darien Gap, across thousands of miles, to the U.S.-Mexico desert border.
My own work with migrants goes back to the early 2000s, in Arizona and Texas. My time on the border in Arizona was marked by the tragic reports of migrants dying in the Sonoran Desert. Hundreds of bodies were found with empty water bottles. Even brave volunteers leaving gallons of water strewn across migrant trails could not halt the deaths of desperate people — young and old, men and women, looking merely for work to send money home to their families.
Most recently, I spent the past eight years volunteering in shelters for migrants in El Paso, Texas, where I heard reports of the suffering and death people have endured. There on the border, we witnessed the effects of harsh immigration laws which condemn thousands who hope for a better life to hopelessness.
Many of the people who came to the shelters I will never forget. In June of 2023, in Cuidad Juarez, El Paso’s neighboring city on the Mexican side of the border, local police arrested a large group of migrants living on the streets after being refused entry to the United States. The men were placed in a detention center and were told they would be deported.
The frustration of the men must have been fierce, and one man took a mattress, set it on fire, thinking the guards would open the gate to let them out. Instead, the guards fled the scene, and 38 men died horrific deaths. One of the few survivors was Wilson, from Guatemala. Wilson was cared for in a Juarez Hospital, but with severely damaged nerves, he couldn’t walk, talk, or move.
Fortunately, Annunciation House, a network of migrant shelters rooted in Catholic Social Teachings, agreed to receive him in an El Paso shelter for long-term care. Thus began the slow healing process for this gentle 20-year-old man. Almost a year later, I got to see my friend, Wilson, speak at a prayer service at Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, where bishops, clerics, and the faithful honored Annunciation House. Wilson was chosen to literally be “a voice crying in the wilderness,” crying for justice, mercy, and repentance.
Featured Photo: Migrants wait outside of Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, Texas. (Courtesy of Sacred Church/U.S.)
Questions for Reflection
Where are migrants calling out to you from the wilderness? In the news? On the streets of your community? Who are they and where do they come from? What do they say as they cry out?
Prayer
Creator God, your loving care is a home for
all. No one is a stranger to you. With your
generous blessings, watch over migrants and
all who leave their homes to escape oppression,
poverty, persecution, trauma, and violence. Help
us to also be sources of blessings through our
acceptance and valuing who they are as persons
eager for wholeness of life.
Creator, you taught us to welcome all. Help us
to remember that the land we call ours is a gift to
be cared for and a gift to be shared with all who
come. May we be open to all those searching for
a safe and peaceful life.
R: Help us to pour out your love and
compassion to all our brothers and sisters.
Amen.
—Elizabeth Knoerl, M.M.
