The last seven words of Jesus Christ

In 2017, the number of international migrants worldwide – people residing in a country other than their country of birth the highest proportion with about 258 million people living in a country other than their own – was the highest ever recorded.

Last year, Pope Francis had expressed concern about the forced nature of current migratory movements and suggested that we welcome, protect, promote and integrate the migrants in a just, compassionate and comprehensive way.

Similarly, the UN has started crafting a Global Compact on Safe and Orderly migration. Franciscans and other NGOs are currently working to ensure that this Global Compact includes a holistic, rights-based approach to migration.

The local Franciscan Justice and Peace Commission OFM based at the Peace Lab, following Pope Francis appeal and that of the Franciscan International, has asked all Christians to reflect on the last words of our Lord on the Cross through the lessons of migration, and begin to consider responses to this burning issue.

As Franciscans we should adopt a spirit of welcome to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters who have done nothing criminal (Luke 23: 41). Pope Francis encourages us “to overcome indifference and to counter fears with a generous approach of welcoming those who knock at our doors”.

“Welcoming migrants into our community, hosting a refugee family, or advocating for their rights can go a long way to change the negative narrative surrounding migration into a positive one, and allow for greater quality of service and increased guarantees of success. Indeed, by welcoming migrant and refugee brothers and sisters, we work to build the Paradise that Jesus promised on the cross.

“Jesus’ cry for water on the cross was an expression of human need that echoes the desperate cries of many migrant and refugee brothers and sisters today who fled difficult and violent situations, only to find themselves facing want and lack of access to human rights, decent living conditions, employment, justice or even water.

“Inequality is one of the major causes of global migration As Christians we are called to a duty of justice and equity. We must work to ensure that our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters have access to healthcare, housing, food security, and education. One way we can share the many resources and social supports is to ensure that the direct services offered by Christians are available to migrant and refugee brothers and sisters by visiting detention centres, advocating for just wages, bringing breakfast to day labourers, and supporting immigrant-led organizations and businesses.”

Jesus’ crucifixion was an example of twisted justice. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” was a cry of des- peration to God. In the darkest and most painful hours of Jesus life, the word made flesh shared in the sense of abandonment and total desolation that many people encounter when they face injustice, tragedy and oppression.

Today, many migrant and refugee brothers and sisters face the same sense of injustice, abandonment and desperation as they are threatened with detention and deportation.

In addition to advocating for immigration reforms, Franciscans can empathize with and attend to our detained or deported migrant and refugee brothers and sisters by accompanying them to their court hearings or connecting them to lawyers. Christians can also hold prayer vigils. A more fundamental change, that of the conversion of hearts, must also occur in us.

Like Francis and Clare, we pray:

That in gazing on Your poor, crucified body, we may know the Body of Christ who still suffers with those who experience injustice and violence;

That in meditating on Your words on the cross, we may hear Your cries echoed in the cries of our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters;

That in contemplating Your suffering, we may empathize and show mercy to those who are displaced and excluded;

And that in desiring to imitate You, who welcomed all, we may also welcome all, especially the stranger and the outcast.

In our liturgical activities in commemoration of the sufferings of our Lord at the Tenth station of the cross where Jesus was stripped of his garments, a wooden plaque has been placed in front of the church of the Peace Lab to demonstrate how strangers coveted Africa’s wealth and overthrew its kingdoms. They robbed its petroleum, gold, silver, diamonds and forests, conscripted the best manpower to engage in hard manual labour and to fight wars in foreign lands, and leaving Africans homeless and naked.