Devotions 6 September

Welcome to the Devotions sheet for this Sunday.  Please take your time to read, pray and imagine your way through what’s here.  May you find grace and strength and connection with God from your time reading and reflecting.
 
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of our land, and pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.  We honour their care of the land and acknowledge that as Second Peoples, we have benefitted from their dispossession.  So we commit ourselves to reconciliation and justice as First and Second Peoples together, and to learn from them to care for each other and the land.
 
Prayer
Dear God of eternity,  time is a funny thing.  In some ways the weeks seem to fly by and in other ways time seems to drag.  Anyhow, this is time I’m specially setting aside to share myself with you.  You know me better than I can say myself.  You see right into my heart and motives.  You know the things I think but dare not say and the things I want but don’t dare act on.  With some of those things it’s because they wouldn’t be good, and with some they would be good but are just not the done thing, or I’m too afraid.  I do believe (and where I doubt it, I’ll try and trust) that you look on the whole of me with compassionate love and care, you forgive all that’s wrong, and in everything you want the best for me.  Thank you for my life and all that’s made it up.  Thank you for the message of Jesus, the reassurance of your Spirit and my connection to your church.  I open myself to receive what you give me out of this time of devotion.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen
 
Introduction
 
 Three weeks ago now we began a series looking at some implications of the gospel in and towards some contemporary and perhaps controversial movements in our world, that all flow from our affirmation that ‘God is Good’.  This was inspired by the banner we plan to get made and mount on the Warrnambool Church as a statement of who we are and what we stand for.  Last week looked ‘Women’s rights are human rights’.  We thought this missed something:  The best alternative that’s been suggested is ‘Women are owed real equity’.  Today it’s time for ‘No Human is Illegal’.

But first!
Take a moment to think about what has changed for women over your lifetime.  If you are a woman, which of these are you grateful for?  Give thanks to God for those changes and the people who have helped bring them about.   If you are a man- what have those changes meant for you?  Would you want to give thanks for them?  Why?
 
Prayer-Meditation
I was just hearing a story about someone, whose cat never goes outside- it is too scared to, and so stays inside even if the door is opened for it.  Using your imagination in prayer- talk and listen with God about these prompts:  What does the cat enjoy?  What does it miss out on- both good and bad?  Jesus said ‘I have come that you might have life in its fullness (John 10:10).  Does the cat story speak to you of your life?  Or ‘life’ in general?   You might even like to write a response.
 
No human is illegal
All these phrases are loaded and respond to policies and practices around social justice issues.  They are a response to injustices.  So ‘No Human Is Illegal’ is about policies and terms used to describe Refugees and Asylum Seekers.  Certain Refugees and Asylum Seekers get branded as ‘Illegals’ wrongly.  According to the United Nations Convention on Refugees to which Australia is a signatory, it is a human right to seek asylum in another country when you fear persecution in your own. The  Australian Press Council has said that calling asylum seekers ‘illegal immigrants’ is a breach of the Council’s Standards of Practice.
 
A brief history
    After World War 2 Australia felt a need to increase it’s population and opened its door to migrants from Europe, including a lot of displaced people from the war.  After the end of the Vietnam War, under Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, many refugees from Vietnam were welcomed.  Many of those came by small boats.
    In 1992 after an influx of Cambodian refugees the Labor government brought in mandatory detention for anyone entering Australia without a valid visa.
    Australia has a history of accepting UNHCR recognised refugees (people who have been waiting in Refugee Camps).  The annual figure from 2013 was 13,750 which  was increased to 18,750 in 2018.
    In 2001 under Prime Minister John Howard, the government chose to make an issue of boat arrivals with the Tampa Affair, where a Norwegian ship rescued asylum seekers in trouble off the Australian coast.  The government refused to accept them, there was a stand-off, and the government used it to incite fear of ‘boat people’ to raise its popularity.  With the fear of terrorists after 9/11 this approach worked.  The ‘Pacific Solution’ was created where boat arrivals could be sent to Nauru and later Manus Island while their claims were assessed.  Christmas Island and other Australian islands were excised from Australia’s migration zone, so arrivals there couldn’t apply for asylum there. Boat turn-backs were started using the navy.  Temporary (3 year) Protection Visas were introduced for boat people found to be refugees.  Most asylum seekers sent to Nauru and Manus Island had their claims processed and over 90% were found to be refugees.
    The new Labor government ended offshore processing early in 2008 and ended the temporary nature of TPVs.  This coincided with the civil war in Sri Lanka and war in Afghanistan and Iraq creating a millions of refugees of whom many sought Australia by boat.  Many solutions were proposed and thwarted and off-shore processing was re-started under Prime Minister Julia Gillard.  When Kevin Rudd re-replaced her, in July 2013 he introduced a policy that no boat people would ever be resettled in Australia. 
    The Abbott Coalition Government with Peter Dutton becoming Minister for Home Affairs took an even tougher stand with Operation Sovereign Borders.  TPVs were reintroduced, and time limited Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEVs).  Eventually they took children off Manus Island and Nauru, and with a deal with USA, the number of refugees has reduced a lot.  Last year’s Medevac Bill was another controversy illustrating the government’s hard line on refugees needing urgent medical attention.  Those who have come for treatment are now holed up in hotels like under permanent quarantine.  One family where the parents fled Sri Lanka are kept at huge expense on Christmas Island though hundreds of thousands of people have campaigned for their release to the Biloela community in Queensland that wants them back.  UN experts have found this offshore processing regime to be in breach of international human rights standards.  Under international law, Australia is still responsible for upholding the human rights of asylum seekers it sends offshore.
    Meanwhile, many people overstay their visas in Australia.
 
Some scriptures:
Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is the remembrance of what it was like for the people of Israel to be refugees, for example Psalm 105: 12-13
God's people were few in number, strangers in the land of Canaan.  13 They wandered from country to country, from one kingdom to another.
And therefore to treat other refugees with hospitality: eg Exodus 23: 9
9 “Do not mistreat a foreigner; you know how it feels to be a foreigner, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
 
In Jesus’ parable of the ultimate test of human goodness in Matthew 25: 34-40
‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. 35 I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, 36 naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’
 
In the story of the Good Samaritan, (Luke 10: 25-37)  Jesus’ message is that whoever we come across in need is our ‘neighbour’ and should be treated with great kindness.
 
In the early church, Christians were urged to be hospitable:  eg Romans 12:13
Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers.
And at the same time to feel a bit like refugees in the culture of this world:  eg Hebrews 13: 14
4 For there is no permanent city for us here on earth; we are looking for the city which is to come.
 
Explanation
Human Rights, such as the UN Refugee Convention are a product of Christian ethics and Enlightenment thinking.  It is clear from scripture that Christians should care for refugees.  80 million refugees in the world is more than something we can tackle as individuals.  It is something for governments, though we can play a small part.  Often refugees have significant trauma and need personal support, but they also make grateful and positive citizens.
 
If you want to refute the common arguments against supporting refugees and asylum seekers there are websites like the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, www.arsc.org.au; or the Refugee Council of Australia, www.refugeecouncil.org.au; or the Kaldor Centre at the University of New South Wales, www.kaldorcentre@unsw.edu.au; that have plenty of information.  If you don’t have the internet and are interested let me know and I can send you information.
 
In my experience if you drill down to peoples’ hostility to supporting refugees it comes down to a threat to their money.  Yes it will cost us something, though the long-term benefits may well outweigh the costs.  But we are a wealthy country and can afford to do at least our fair share of taking refugees.  Does our good fortune and the blessing of being born in Australia come with a responsibility to help those less fortunate?
 
But the question I’m wondering about is how we might argue, when it comes to saying ‘No human is illegal’, that ‘Compassion Is Enough Reason’.
That’s a question that takes us to the very core of our value systems or our spirituality.  What is our purpose as human beings?  Much of the world believes it is to be happy.  If that is the purpose of life then you can argue that compassion makes us happier.  It certainly can make one much happier than greed ever does.  All faiths teach this and scientific research confirms it.   We can argue that we are all interconnected, so kindness to others actually benefits us.  But Christian faith calls us beyond our own benefit.  Don’t just be compassionate because ultimately you will be better off.  Christian faith calls us to a deeper purpose- to be part of God’s purpose.  Jesus said ‘Be compassionate as your Father in heaven is compassionate.’  (Luke 6:36)
 
It seems to me there are four ways to argue for generous support for refugees and asylum seekers and that in Australia we could do much better:
The legal one of human rights, a moral argument about our responsibilities as fortunate people, a utilitarian one that it will ultimately makes us happier, and a spiritual one that it reflect the character of God.
Of course just how generous is debatable and in the realm of politics, and in a democracy I think we have the responsibility to use that blessing to advocate for Christlike policies.
 
Our local Love Makes A Way group is in recess since the Covid19 restrictions, but up until then had met weekly to pray for refugees outside Dan Tehan’s office for over 4 years.  Good on them!
 
Prayers from a liturgy from Love Makes a Way

Jesus you calmed the waves:
Be with the boat people.
Until they find safe harbour:
Be with the boat people.
Until their homeland is safe:
Be with the boat people.
Until they are re-united with their families:
Be with the boat people.
Until the hearts of the world are open to their cries:
Be with the boat people.
 
From our fear of strangers:
Christ deliver us.
From our fear of your message:
Christ deliver us.
From our selfishness:
Christ deliver us.
From our paralysis
Christ deliver us.
 
Toward the exiled:
Open our hearts.
Toward the alien:
Open our hearts.
Toward the voiceless:
Open our hearts. 
Toward a more just sharing of what we have received:
Open our hearts.
Toward our sisters and brothers everywhere:
Open our hearts.

 
More prayers
Dear God, we bring to you our prayers about everything else:
My own worries, needs and concerns . . . .
and those of people I love . . . .
our troubled world with this pandemic . . . .
and other big issues in our world and nation . . . .
for our leaders  . . . .
for our church . . . .
for strength, imagination and clarity about what you want me to do . . . .
for those who I find hard to cope with . . . .
And joined with others I pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil;  for the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever.  Amen
 
Blessing: 
May God bless you with an open and compassionate heart, an open and insightful mind, and a creative purpose to live by.  May God’s life flow in and through you with the blessing of an attractive, joyful depth of being.  In the name of Christ.  Amen

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