EVERY EMPIRE IN human history has used the tactics of fear. This fear is evident in the fact that for generations a dark skin hue has automatically made a person at best suspect, at worst a criminal. The empire identifies those whose language and nationality are different as less than human. Dehumanization becomes a tool to justify heinous laws, promoting them as necessary to protect citizens from a horde of savages, criminals, rapists, thugs, or whatever new word is used to instill fear.
Our sacred texts tell the stories of emperors, rulers, and pharaohs who justified mass extermination to maintain power. Herod the Great is one example. Herod was a ruler so deranged and paranoid about losing power that he had his wife, brother-in-law, and three sons murdered to wipe away any trace of royal blood who might challenge his throne.
It is under Herod’s rule that we encounter the revolutionary words of Mary as she proclaims her song of praise, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). For generations, Christians have reduced the Magnificat to a simplistic, spiritual song from a docile, obedient girl chosen by God. The political undertones and demands for justice against rulers and laws that oppress God’s people are rarely elevated.
In this Advent season, when the Christian community prepares for the birth of a long-promised “prince of peace” and hundreds of people wait in hope at the southern U.S. border, let us reclaim Mary’s song as a call to action. Let us read and sing the Magnificat as a call to create and to be a sanctuary for our immigrant siblings who suffer under the inhumane and wicked thumb of the oppressor.
People of faith must defy the cruel laws that put so many children of God in cages for having the audacity to seek a better life. Families walking miles for safety, those caught in a broken immigration system, and immigrant toddlers forced to appear alone in court are depending on us. As we actively await the birth of Christ, it is our moral responsibility to fight for safe places for all who are crushed and brutalized. Christians need to be as loud for love and justice as those who spew hate.
When Mary spoke her words of praise, she trusted in a God who always has and always will liberate the oppressed. Mary knew that in her womb she carried a child who would topple empires and lift up the marginalized. We too must cry out in joy for the blessings bestowed upon us. As we see images of children crying out for mercy for their detained or deported parents, we too must cry out—this is a time for sanctuary!
How will people of faith become accomplices to Mary’s cry for sanctuary? We need sanctuary for those persecuted by a tyrannical ruler’s insatiable hunger for power. Sanctuary for that child born in Bethlehem so long ago. Sanctuary for the family escaping poverty and death threats. Sanctuary for all.
The promise we have is that empires will fall and braggart rulers cease. The hungry will feast and those persecuted will find peace. We hold on to this promise that Mary knew her child would bring. Her song of praise was a prelude to Jesus’ ministry. As followers of that child Jesus, we are confident in knowing who Jesus stands with.
Nancy Frausto, a DACA recipient, is associate rector at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Long Beach, Calif.
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