{"id":1772,"date":"2012-10-25T09:43:55","date_gmt":"2012-10-25T09:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/onscripture\/?p=1772"},"modified":"2012-10-24T20:47:30","modified_gmt":"2012-10-24T20:47:30","slug":"gods-return-policy-jeremiah-317-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/onscripture\/2012\/10\/gods-return-policy-jeremiah-317-9\/","title":{"rendered":"God\u2019s Return Policy: Jeremiah 31:7-9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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By Gregory Lee Cu\u00e9llar<\/a><\/p>\n

Debates on immigration in the United States continue to move in the default direction of North\/South. As such, the prominent debating points often direct public attention to the U.S.\/Mexico border fence and the Latina\/o community. By sleight-of-hand, many in the mainstream media tend to recast a centuries-old U.S. immigration experience as a Latina\/o problem.<\/p>\n

Unlike the variety of migration stories in the Bible, the forces creating migration for many Latina\/o families are closely tied to the issues of power and hyper-consumerism. Often as a last resort do immigrant families enter the northbound currents of low-wage laborers that, as Bishop Minerva Carca\u00f1o describes, feed \u201cthe economic machine in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Clergy Take a Non-Partisan Approach to Discussing Immigration Reform at the DNC<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Bishop Minerva Carca\u00f1o of the United Methodist Church argues that neither the Republicans or Democrats have taken a \u201cclear, bold leadership role\u201d on the issue of immigration reform. Carca\u00f1o sat on a panel discussion on faith and immigration, and was joined by Bishop Julian Gordy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock. The discussion, sponsored by the Baptist Center for Ethics and held at St. Peter\u2019s Catholic Church, was one of several held by faith communities in Charlotte, N.C. in and around the Democratic National Convention.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Yet, ever present on their journey to \u201cEl Norte\u201d (the North) are the faces of loved ones left behind and the hope of a joyous return.<\/p>\n

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Celebrating the Return Journey<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indeed, the lectionary text from Jeremiah 31:7-9 resonates profoundly with the immigrant theme of return from a northern country. Jeremiah revolves around the traumatic destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon which follows. In short, the book deals with faith in the wake of violence and migration. In 31:7, the prophet uses a series of commands that elaborate on the act of celebratory singing. For the Judean exiles, however, the destruction of Jerusalem had given way to lament and sorrow. As they expressed in Psalm 137:4, \u201cHow could we sing the Lord\u2019s song in a foreign land?\u201d Only with the prospect of return in Jeremiah 31:6 (\u201cCome, let us go up to Zion\u201d) could their lament turn into a song of gladness (v.7). Jeremiah\u2019s vision of return is teeming with hope.<\/p>\n

Those U.S. immigrants here out of economic necessity would likely find great comfort in Jeremiah\u2019s celebratory vision of return even though the anxiety, fear, and harassment endured by many undocumented immigrant families may render this vision unrealistic. Yet despite their everyday struggles, immigrant communities in the United States are able to sustain their joyous memories of homeland through songs, murals, names, and foods. These cultural expressions bring immigrants a sense of \u201chome\u201d in an unfamiliar land. They become mini-return moments in which they are transported to the sights and sounds of home.<\/p>\n

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The Pathway Home<\/strong><\/p>\n

The exiles\u2019 journey home begins, as verse 8 states, \u201cfrom the land of the north\u201d and \u201cfrom the farthest parts of the earth.\u201d Rather than being a self-initiated return, it is God who coordinates the exiles\u2019 return trip. This divinely planned return makes provisions for even the most vulnerable among the exiles to be included in the journey. From the blind and the lame to women and children, they are all \u201ca great company.\u201d Cherished as such, the Judean exiles are no longer captured laborers at risk of inhumane and violent treatment. Both weak and strong in the exilic community are given divine worth.<\/p>\n

This approach to repatriation stands in stark contrast to current U.S. policy initiatives whereby undocumented immigrants are arrested, detained, and ultimately deported. Without any regard for the deportees\u2019 U.S. familial ties, the current policy initiatives sever household relationships, which can stretch to a lifetime. As a result of losing loved ones, immigrant families suffer emotional, financial, and psychological trauma. Deportees return to their home countries in an unplanned and usually unwanted manner. Those dropped off at the border are vulnerable to increased cartel violence. Different from a divinely led return, the current policy initiatives make no provisions to ensure a safe and humane return of detained undocumented immigrants. Under current policy initiatives, undocumented immigrants are given little worth. Yet, the pathways for return in Jeremiah invite a contrary view.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\nFamily Left Behind<\/strong>\n

Seemingly out of place in this passage are the words in verse 9, \u201cwith weeping they shall come.\u201d The \u201cweeping\u201d described here refers to the sorrow felt after the loss of a loved one. With decades living in exile, many may not have lived long enough to return. The bones of their exiled ancestors were most likely left behind. Their sorrow, however, is not left unattended. God\u2019s return plan is to lead the exiles back \u201cwith consolations.\u201d Apart from God being attentive to their emotional state, God\u2019s return plan also includes \u201cbrooks of water\u201d and \u201ca straight path in which they shall not stumble.\u201d With the care of a parent, God\u2019s return plan is comprehensive, attending to the exiles\u2019 emotional, physical, and psychological needs. They do not return home alone but rather in community.<\/p>\n

In some States, laws have been passed that force undocumented immigrants to self-deport. There is nothing more contrary to the return plan of God in Jeremiah than the compound policy of \u201cself\u201d and \u201cdeportation.\u201d Implied in this policy is the inhumane reality that immigrants are to return alone along winding pathways and with few provisions. The \u201cself\u201d part of this policy suggests minimal emotional and psychological support on the part of the state. The state sanctioned forces provoking their departure incite trauma rather than song.<\/p>\n

It is the duty of all people of the Christian faith to welcome the stranger, in both practice and policy. The state may be powerful, but more importantly, God\u2019s people should act out of love for the neighbor that they see every day. The prophet Jeremiah spoke powerfully to a people uprooted from their homelands and in search of God\u2019s help. Today, immigrants continue to call out to this God and that God continues to promise to walk alongside the exile and the immigrant. Today also, the prophet\u2019s words call us all to open the doors of welcome and not build new fences of division.<\/p>\n

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By Gregory Lee Cu\u00e9llar Debates on immigration in the United States continue to move in the default direction of North\/South. As such, the prominent debating points often direct public attention to the U.S.\/Mexico border fence and the Latina\/o community. By sleight-of-hand, many in the mainstream media tend to recast a centuries-old U.S. immigration experience as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":625,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[427,429,431,432,430,426,392,42,206,735,213,428],"class_list":["post-1772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-scripture","tag-el-norte","tag-2012-dnc","tag-2012-presidential-elections","tag-bible-lectionary","tag-faith-now","tag-gregory-lee-cuellan","tag-immigration-debate","tag-latino-community","tag-odyssey-networks","tag-on-scripture","tag-on-scripture-the-bible","tag-us-immigrants"],"yoast_head":"\nGod\u2019s Return Policy: Jeremiah 31:7-9<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Gregory Lee Cu\u00e9llar Debates on immigration in the United States continue to move in the default direction of North\/South. 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