Homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the 110th World Day Of Migrants And Refugees 2024
29 September 2024
Readings: Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 18; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48
In his message for this 110th World Day Of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis says: ‘it is possible to see in the migrants of our time, as in those of every age, a living image of God’s people on their way to the eternal homeland.’[1] It may be possible, but then again it need not happen. Even in democratic countries priding themselves on the rule of law, leaders may see a distinct political advantage in demonising migrants rather than seeing them as ‘a living image of God’s people on their way to the eternal homeland.’ It should be noted that the pope’s message was written and published long before the recent US presidential debate.
Listen at https://soundcloud.com/frank-brennan-6/homily-29924
Then came the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris when Trump erupted: ‘In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.’
At his press conference on his flight home from our part of the world three days later, Pope Francis, answering the CBS news reporter, said:
‘But let it be clear: denying migrants the ability to work and receive hospitality is a sin, a grave sin. The Old Testament speaks repeatedly of the orphan, the widow, and the stranger-migrants. These are the three that Israel must care for. Failing to care for migrants is a sin, a sin against life and humanity.’[2]
However Pope Francis was not offering any assistance to American voters wondering how they should vote, observing: ‘Both are against life. I can’t decide; I’m not American and won’t go to vote there.’
Here in Australia, it does not matter what party is in government. Every Australian government since the Tampa affair in 2001 basically endorses the catchcry John Howard formulated at that time: ‘We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come.’ Any deviation from that line is judged to be electoral suicide. If in any doubt, just consider the statement that Tony Burke issued when he took up the Home Affairs portfolio in July this year: ‘The Albanese Labor Government is committed to strong and secure borders. By maintaining strong borders we can deliver an orderly and compassionate immigration system that is tailored to the needs of the nation. When I took over the immigration portfolio in 2013 boat arrivals were at an all-time high. The policy changes I oversaw delivered a 90 percent reduction in the number of people putting their lives at risk on boats.’[3]
So what are those of us who benefit from secure borders and an orderly migration program to make of Pope Francis’s renewed call that we build bridges rather than walls? Being an island nation continent, we Australians are spared having to build walls. We simply turn boats back or remove hapless asylum seekers to offshore islands. Ministers, whether Liberal or Labor, will boast to us about how tough they are in stopping the boats. They’ll argue the finer points of Operation Sovereign Borders but they’ll be basically on the same page assuring us the voters that no boats will get through on their watch and they’ll be as tough as their opponents on any who make it to our shores without the requisite visa.
The best we can do is to keep urging a generous migration policy with a healthy quota of places for refugees and other humanitarian cases and to keep demanding a quick, fair and transparent process for determining onshore asylum claims. Insofar as we judge our government falling short, we need to consider how individually and collectively we can assist at least a few of those who do not have the good fortune to find a home with dignity, peace and security.[4]
Meanwhile those of us assured a permanent place in a peaceful, secure country like Australia have cause to reflect on today’s second reading from James: ‘An answer for the rich. Start crying, weep for the miseries that are coming to you. Your wealth is all rotting, your clothes are all eaten up by moths. All your gold and your silver are corroding away, and the same corrosion will be your own sentence, and eat into your body.’ ‘On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you went on eating to your heart’s content.’
It’s not enough that we agree that Donald Trump’s words about migrants in Springfield are disgusting. It’s only when such words are guaranteed to be electoral suicide that we will know that we live in societies where we can journey together with ‘all those who have had to leave their land in search of dignified living conditions.’
Let’s pray the prayer Pope Francis puts before us at the end of his message for today:
God, Almighty Father,
we are your pilgrim Church
journeying towards the Kingdom of heaven.
We live in our homeland,
but as if we were foreigners.
Every foreign place is our home,
yet every native land is foreign to us.
Though we live on earth,
our true citizenship is in heaven.
Do not let us become possessive
of the portion of the world
you have given us as a temporary home.
Help us to keep walking,
together with our migrant brothers and sisters,
toward the eternal dwelling you have prepared for us.
Open our eyes and our hearts
so that every encounter with those in need
becomes an encounter with Jesus, your Son and our Lord.
Amen.
Since the start of 2024, Fr Frank Brennan SJ has been serving as part of a Jesuit team of priests working within a new configuration of the Toowong, St Lucia and Indooroopilly parishes in the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
Frank Brennan SJ is a former CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). His latest book is An Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Considering a Constitutional Bridge, Garratt Publishing, 2023 and his new book is ‘Lessons from Our Failure to Build a Constitutional Bridge in the 2023 Referendum’ (Connor Court, 2024).
[3] See https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/TonyBurke/Pages/new-portfolios-30072024.aspx. Mr Burke was referring to the Rudd Government’s announcement on 19 July 2013 that unvisaed asylum seekers arriving by boat would be taken to Manus Island or Nauru and never permitted to enter Australia. See https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/png-move-proves-australia-is-not-special
[4] See for example this week’s appeal from Myanmar: https://youtu.be/564RoqlpX-c?feature=shared
