26th Sunday Year B - Homily 4

Homily 4 – 2021 

Today, as we celebrate Migrant and Refugee Sunday, we are invited to think more deeply about the opportunities that migration opens up. Migrants and refugees are very much one contemporary instance of the larger dynamic of difference becoming oneness —perhaps an illustration of Jesus’ comment, “Whoever is not against us is for us”.

Early in my priesthood, the Second Vatican Council had called our Catholic Church to the value and the need for co-operation with other Christian Churches. At the same time, it summoned the Church in the West to seek ways to cooperate practically and personally with the Church in the East and South. Both calls flow naturally from the insight behind Jesus’ observation: “Whoever is not against us is for us”. That was nearly sixty years ago. It was a few years later that I found myself very much involved working with other Christian Churches in our common financial and personal support for refugees recently arrived on our shores. That cooperation led to the Action for World Development initiatives of the seventies [that some you might remember]— a wonderful example of inter-Church teamwork that has continued to deepen since then.

Just as the Vatican Council had called our Catholic Church to think and work ecumenically with other Christians, it spoke also of the need and value of inter-faith cooperation — with Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims among others. Such cooperation has become possible, and more necessary of recent years, as migrants and refugees from predominantly Muslim countries have entered or are seeking to enter our country.

Recently Fr Paddy and I have had the privilege of sharing our space in the presbytery with Javid, a young Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. I was fortunate to have shared many a conversation with him over an evening meal. I was deeply, deeply, impressed by his devotion to God and to God’s mercy, by his prayer, even his fasting. It opened my eyes, and challenged some of my prejudices.

Certainly, we Catholics are, for some time now, experiencing the value of the presence in our Church of Catholics and, indeed of Catholic priests or seminarians, who have arrived here from India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Africa and elsewhere.

Jesus’ comment in today’ Gospel, “Whoever is not against us is for us”, makes me wonder if even the Muslim presence here in Australia may lead in time, as seems possible also in so-called Christian Europe, to our Western cultures generally finding once again a more significant place for God in our otherwise increasingly godless life-styles. Sadly, many of those refugees have suffered deep trauma during the many vicious wars fought in their homelands by armies from the West, including Australia. They need time and help, understanding and welcome, particularly from us Christians — we at least, I hope, are sensitive to our shared dignity as children of the one, merciful God our Creator, and can comfortably reach out to anyone and everyone, whoever they are, as our sisters and brothers.

To appreciate that “Whoever is not against us is for us” is true will, in their case, given the terrible past experiences of many of them, require us to take the initiative, to show them welcome and sensitively to help them, where possible, to integrate and eventually feel “at home”.

Sadly, our Government seems to think differently.