In the Gospels, the disciples have witnessed Jesus’ teachings, miraculous healings, and extraordinary compassion for the least of these. They have put their bodies where Christ put Christ’s body and encountered God’s love for them and for the least of these. Jesus asks them and us, “Who do you say that I am?” Not what others say, but who do you say that I am? This is not to satisfy the head but the heart and to discern Christ in our midst. The faithful answering of this question will guide us to where God is calling us.
In January, I had the privilege to travel to the borderlands of Arizona. I crossed the border in Douglas, AZ, and Nogales, AZ, and stood at the entrance near Sasabe, AZ. I drove the border wall paved by President Trump and President Biden. I set out food and water and announced to a barren desert that “we come in peace,” only to come back an hour to find someone had taken it. I met migrants who survived the Darien gap in Panama, 10 days without food. I met migrants who were violently beaten by cartels, who spent all their money to arrive at our border. That is because the US offers rights to those fleeing death and persecution. I witnessed a desert scattered with white crosses and red dots, marking one of the 4,288 locations where human remains have been found. These numbers are underreported by the US Border Patrol. From activists, humanitarian aid, and immigration lawyers came the same line: “It was designed this way.”
“Who do you say that I am?”
I saw Christ in the immigrant. I saw Christ as a loving father risking desert and death for the family he was forced to leave behind. I saw Christ in humanitarian workers enduring dangerous terrains, filling water jugs that will save lives. I saw Christ in Christians and Atheists who daily drive dessert roads searching for anyone who is in need. I see Christ in anyone open to shelter and protect those in need. I see Christ in those whose hearts hold fast to love and compassion.
Because of Christ Jesus, the darkness can never overcome the light. Because of who Christ Jesus is and was and always will be, we are urged to say yes to God’s call to care for the immigrant in our community (Lev. 19). May we know more intimately the one we call Christ, and may we follow him in the days, months, and years ahead.