Peace and Justice Reflection

Reflection on Isaiah 58:1-7

By Br. Steve Herro, O. Praem.

Today's reading, Isaiah 58:1-7, is typically used during Lent, our traditional season of fasting.   So why did we choose it for tonight's evening prayer service? 

Since June 6, U.S. immigration advocates from Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Quaker, Moslem, and Sikh communities have used today's reading while participating in the Interfaith Immigration Coalition's Isaiah 58 National Solidarity Vigil and Fast for Arizona.  Each region of the country has been  assigned a particular week, and today begins our region's week of common and private prayer and fasting  on behalf of those affected by Arizona Senate Bill 1070. 

When I was a child, I fasted as a child.  One Lent, I gave up popcorn; another Lent, I fasted from name calling and fighting with one of my brothers.  But Carol Rogers, in her book Fasting:  Exploring a Great Spiritual Practice, reminds us that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all connect seasons of fasting to messages of care and concern for others—the poor, the hungry, and the oppressed.  Nonviolent political actions aimed at changing oppressive structures have long included fasting.  In the 20th century, Brits fasted for voting rights, Irishman Terence MacSwiney and Mahatma Gandhi of India fasted for political independence, and Dorothy Day and 19 other women fasted during the Second Vatican Council while advocating for a peace statement that supported both conscientious objection and a ban on nuclear weapons.  Fasting demonstrates a willingness to accept personal discomfort in order to give additional weight to our solidarity with those who are suffering.

The reading from Isaiah offers us stiff challenges:  Yahweh favors a fast that releases the bonds of those bound unjustly, sets free the oppressed, shares our bread with the hungry, shelters the oppressed and the homeless and clothes the naked when we see them.

During this week of prayer and fasting for immigrants in Arizona, do we realize what are the driving forces behind people emigrating to the United States from Latin American countries?  Small Mexican farmers are forced to leave their homeland because they cannot compete with the advantages granted to corporate farms from the United States and Canada since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement.  Factory  workers, who formerly assembled products for U.S. companies in Mexico, have seen their jobs outsourced to even lower paid workers in India and China.  Immigrants pay large sums of money, subject themselves to some dishonest and physically dangerous people, and risk horrendous desert conditions for one simple reason:  to provide a better, yet meager, livelihood for them and their families. 

Some of us know the basic premises of Arizona Senate Bill 1070, scheduled to become law July 28, unless lawsuits brought by the United States Department of Justice, Arizona law enforcement groups, and immigration advocates, prevent it from taking effect.  The bill would make it a state crime to live in Arizona without documentation papers, empower local law enforcement staff to enforce immigration laws, and criminalize attempts by day laborers to seek work in Arizona.   But is the public also aware that the law would criminalize the provision of social services to undocumented immigrants?  And what does Isaiah 58 say about "…sharing bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, and clothing the naked when you see them?"  If this law takes effect, you could be arrested in Arizona for taking an immigrant to Sunday Mass!

A few days ago, a man said to me, "We should not attempt to make state policy for people in Arizona.  We don't live their experiences and we are not being forced to pay for their social services." And what would have happened if people outside of the Third Reich had not responded when millions of Jews and others deemed "undesirable" were being rounded up, interned in concentration camps, and gassed to death less than 75 years ago?

So, I invite you to continue to participate in our week of solidarity for Arizona immigrants.  Take 30 minutes for private prayer and fasting this week; you can sign up for a slot this Tuesday in the Abbey church by stopping in the north cloister walk and signing the tripod or commit yourself to another day and venue; join the Bay Settlement Franciscans at their convent on Nicolet Drive this Wednesday at 6:30 when they host the viewing and discussing of Dying to Live:  A Migrant's Journey; the sisters are also hosting a community prayer service to help bring our week to a close this Friday at 7 p.m. in the chapel of their convent on Nicolet Drive. 

Wisconsin might be 1700 miles away, but let's not forget the value of our prayerful presence for our brothers and sisters in Arizona.

.

Archived Reflections
-Reflection from the Day after Pentecost by Brother Steve Herro, O. Praem. (Archived July 13, 2010)
-Our Polarized World by Brother Steve Herro, O. Praem. (Archived May 27, 2010)
-Now More Than Ever by Marge Mattice, MSN, ACNP-BC, CWON (Archived December 7,2009)
-We Need Fair and Just Immigration Reform by Rev. Jeremy Tobin, O. Praem., (Archived August 8, 2009)
-"A Justice and Peace Minister's Journey over Torture Awareness" by Br. Steve Herro, O. Praem., (Archived 06-29-09)
-Brother Steve Herro, O. Praem. Chair, St. Norbert Abbey Justice and Peace Committee March 7, 2009 (Archived 6-3-2009)
-Reflection by Fr. Jeremy Tobin, O. Praem., (Archived 3-9-2009)
-Justice and Peace Reflection for Advent 2008 By Bro. Steve Herro, O. Praem., (Archived 1-16-2009)
-Advent Reflection by Fr. Andy Cribben (Archived 12-11-2008)
-Norbertines invite your participation in national campaign against torture by Br. Steve Herro, O. Praem (Archived 12-3-08)
-Keeping the "Forming Consciences" in "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" By Brother Steve Herro, O.Praem. (Archived 11-12-08)
-Labor Day and Catholic Social Teaching By Brother Steve Herro, O.Praem. (Archived 09-29-08)
- Catholic Social Teaching and Climate Change By Brother Steve Herro, O. Praem. (Archived 09-02-08)