by Paolo Antoci
The Holy Family is rightly held up as a model for migrant families. Prototype of families persecuted due to hatred and violence. Icon of refugees and exiles. Currently the evangelical passage of the flight into Egypt, of the stay and the return from Egypt is recalled and updated more than ever in the contemporary era and by today's ecclesial community.
There is a non-secondary passage found in verse 23: "Joseph, being afraid to go there [to Judea]... withdrew to the regions of Galilee". That fear of Joseph makes him even more right. Faced with human weakness that leads him to fear, he responsibly makes, once again, a decision for the good of his family. He changes path. And he does well. Another dream proves this; as if to say that: "your fear was legitimate, your intuition to change direction was good, God gives you confirmation and you can proceed".
Perhaps it will be a strain on the text, a slightly strange interpretation, and I'm not surprised if someone will object harshly and heatedly.
Joseph, a Bethlehemite by origin, a Jew by blood, after a few years exiled in a foreign land, did not force events, did not oppose the authorities, did not insistently demand rights;
he could do it, certainly, but over the cries of protest he chose silence and reflection, over indulging his instincts and moods he listened to the voice of revealing dreams, the inner voice of
conscience and the motions of the Spirit of discernment that led him to Nazareth, in
Galilee, safe and sound.
Many of our migrants are not Christians, it is true, and therefore they can never know this biblical scene, but I turn the reflection to Christians, to those who look at the Holy Family as a model for migrant families. it is a reflection to see from another angle, from another perspective, the migratory phenomenon, today a problematic issue with heated souls.
Eradicating injustices, helping, welcoming, guaranteeing dignity and safety to human life are certainly priorities for a civil and Christian community. The ways in which these ethical and religious principles can be applied are questionable and divergent, as long as they are applied. In short, intervening in society is always a good thing. But let's not forget that behind these tribulations of life, in these sad stories of people and peoples, other signs and meanings are hidden that perhaps Christians themselves, in a secularized and secular culture, do not want to recognize and accept, losing the meaning and the theological and eschatological orientation that they want to reveal.
The persecutions faced by migrants are many and of all types, physically violent and/or psychologically violent; martyrdom, tribulation is overcome not only by the physical heroic nature of leaving alive from a landing arriving at any landing place, but also by the heroic nature of the exercise of the virtue of patience, of the same work of spiritual mercy, that is, that of enduring even the rejection of a Nation and go further to find peace and serenity for oneself and one's family. Leaving everything, risking everything, doing everything, even changing course, even if this involves other sacrifices, other times, other unexpected events, other fears.
Yet the pious Israelite Joseph, a righteous man, confided in and trusted Providence - another unknown to the rich Western world - making the words of the psalmist his own: "He who sows in tears will reap with joy" (Ps 126). The symbol of the 'seed' does not only refer to the plant kingdom, but also to man. And the descendants, they are the children who cost sacrifices, but are a sign of hope also giving satisfaction and joy. And Joseph moved for his son Jesus, the hope and joy of the salvation of humanity. In the New Testament, the Beatitudes of Matthew reflect the logic of this proverb, while the beatitude: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Mt 5:4) is a literary revival of it. Jesus himself will later be inspired by this saying, loading it with personal nuances, when, during the Last Supper, he will say to his disciples: «You will cry and groan, but the world will rejoice. You will be sad, but your sadness will be changed into joy" (cf. John 16,20:XNUMX).
And so, the biblical and iconographic image of the migrant Holy Family must not be the image of pietism alone, of commiseration, of the poor suffering people who are pitiful; may it also be the image of the solution, of finding other ways out, of not being overcome by despondency; let it be the image of hope, of good news, of good news. May it be so for us Christians who are not migrants and so if - unfortunately - we could be so in the future. For many migrants, is hope Italy or France or Spain? Good luck, I hope so. But if times and policies do not allow it because there are the 'Archelaus' of the moment, then, without excluding other resolution choices, other courageous, albeit sacrificial, decisions should be undertaken. The safe haven can be another land where God, to Abraham, to Saint Joseph, subsequently indicated, and there these people dwelt. Let us understand it, let us make it understood through political, cultural, social and ecclesial ways, to others. On the other hand, it is not at all obvious that we will be able to guarantee a certain well-being to these people who believe they will find who knows what here with us, indeed the disappointments in this sense do not take long to reveal themselves.
The Holy Family managed in its 'Exodus' to save itself from Herod's persecution and to distance itself from the alleged threats of Archelaus. That fear of Joseph was decisive. In fact, he changed his destination. To the logic, sometimes with an ideological flavour, of a welcome at all costs, almost unruly and uncontrolled, one could opt for other national and international solutions more suitable and dignified for the community welcomed and for the one it welcomes. It would be enough not to delude with ideological motivations those who need hospitality and those who could/should welcome.
