Christian Reflection and Prayer

"the last will be first, and the first, last" (Matthew 20:16).

You probably heard the news story that Pope Francis will
visit the Philippines in January, 2015. But you may not
have heard this story of the Pope's earlier visit to New
York City. It seems His Holiness was traveling to a much
anticipated, historic meeting with the Secretary General
of the United Nations, and restless from his long journey,
was eager to arrive at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.
As the the pilot started his approach, due to unsafe wind
conditions, he was instead instructed to land at Newark
Airport in New Jersey. When the plane finally touched
down, the Pope, now a bit agitated, was whisked away in
a limousine to his meeting. With only minutes to spare,
he sat anxiously in the back seat of the vehicle. "Can you
drive a bit faster my son?" the Pope gently asked the
chauffeur. "I'm terribly sorry Your Holiness," the limousine
driver begged, "but I can't afford another speeding ticket.
I already have been warned that if I receive one more
violation I will lose my license."

The Pope responded sympathetically to the worried driver,
then asked him to stop the car. To the chauffeur's
astonishment, the Pope got out of the limousine, tapped
on the driver's door and told him that he would drive the
rest of the way. The driver moved to the back seat and
the Pope got behind the wheel. Driving much faster than
the chauffeur would have dared, the Pontiff darted in and
out of traffic, narrowly missing several parked cars.
Observing the speeding limousine, a police officer promptly
signaled the vehicle to pull over. "Let me handle this one,
" the officer announced to his partner. "Before I'm through w
ith this guy he'll have at least five tickets!"

After only a minute, the visibly shaken officer returned to
his squad car with his ticket book still unopened. "You
didn't write him a single ticket?" his partner protested.
"What happened?"

"I couldn't write him a ticket," the first officer said
sheepishly. "This guy is a big shot, I mean, a really big
shot!"

"Who was it?" his partner asked. "The Mayor of New York
City. . . The Governor of New York State. . . The Chief of
Police? Don't tell me you pulled over the New York City
Police Chief!"

"No, he's bigger than all of them!" the first officer insisted.

"Bigger than all of them? Who's bigger than them?"

"Well," said the first officer, "I'm not exactly sure who he is
but the Pope is his chauffeur!"

"the last will be first, and the first, last" (Matthew 20:16).

Humility

t has always amazed me that Jesus, the King of kings,
humbled Himself and came to earth to be our suffering
Servant. He was not born in the palace of the kings.
Indeed, He could have ordered the angels of heaven to
come and prepare a grand building, which could be
substituted for the Bethlehem stable and manger.

When King Herod tried to have the Savior murdered,
Jesus could have transported Himself, Mary, and Joseph
to a place of safety. He could have commandeered a
chariot of fire like Elijah's. He could have ordered the
sands of the desert to blind and confuse the soldiers,
or He might have simply struck down anyone who
opposed Him.

As the Savior hung on the cross, He had the power to
switch places with those who had put Him there. Being
God's Son, Jesus could have done many things to make
His life on earth easier. He could have done those things,
but He didn't. Instead, He chose to live His life in poverty
and humility.

But why?

Had I been in His place I would have used all my authority
to save myself from the attack of my enemies. If I had
been Jesus, I would have performed a miracle to frighten
my enemies and force them to keep their distance.

But Jesus didn't do any of those things. Instead, He
humbled himself even unto death. Jesus gave up all earthly
glory and allowed Himself to be taken by His persecutors
and murderers.

Paul helps us understand in His epistle to the Philippians.
There He says, "Your attitude should be the same as that
of Christ Jesus. ... (He) took on the nature of a servant. ...
As a man He humbled Himself and became obedient unto
death, even death on the cross" (See Philippians 5:5-8).

Now, because Jesus, true Man and true God has fulfilled
the Commandments for us, has defeated temptations for
us, and conquered death for us, all who believe on Him as
Savior are washed, cleansed, forgiven and saved. Now all
that is left for His people to do is follow their Lord in humility.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, we thank You for the humble and sacrificial
work You did for us. Help us to be humble in our daily
contacts with others. This we ask so souls might be won
for Your kingdom. In Your Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

With Congress failing to enact immigration reform,
attention and pressure is now focused on what
President Obama can do to address our broken
immigration system. In June, the president
announced, “I’m beginning a new effort to fix as
much of our immigration system as I can on my
own, without Congress.”

Like everything else in Washington, the president’s
plans have been caught up in politics. With the
surge of migrant children at the U.S. border
fostering misperceptions about border security,
immigration has again become a hot-button issue
in congressional races across the country. Given
pressure from Democrats in tough races and the
desire to depoliticize any administrative action, the
White House announced the president would not
be taking any steps until after the November
elections.

The political calculus is always changing, but the
day-to-day worries and fears of family separation
remain the same. Both Republicans and Democrats
need to stop using immigrant families as political
footballs and remember the lives at stake in this
debate. It is the faith community’s job to offer them
this reminder.

With hope,
The Sojourners Immigration Team