Jesus was determined to get to Jerusalen

Jesus was determined to journey to Jerusalem.

Luke 9, 51-61         

When the days for Jesus' being taken up were fulfilled,

he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,

and he sent messengers ahead of him. 

On the way they entered a Samaritan village 

to prepare for his reception there,

but they would not welcome him

because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. 

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,

"Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven

to consume them?" 

Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

The readings today are about journeys. About people who left their homeland following a call. In the first reading we have the call of Elisha, he is ready to follow Elijah but before goes he says, "Let me give my parents a kiss goodbye then I will follow you". For me it is a very tender image. I can imagine very well Elisha giving a kiss to his parents before going on his journey.

In the gospel Jesus is also on a journey. The gospel says, Jesus resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem. The people did not want Jesus to take the trip. They wanted Jesus to stay there with them in their town. Jerusalem was the Promised Land, but it was also dangerous, and Jesus would have to pass through lands of foreigners, like Samaria. And it is true, when Jesus passed through Samaria they did not want to receive him; rather, they did not receive him. But there was no stopping Jesus, Jesus was resolutely determined.

Jesus knew that he had to go to Jerusalem. He was well aware of the dangers, he knew that the Samaritans were not going to receive him; he knew that they were going to treat him as a foreigner, but Jesus was resolute in his determination. Jesus had to get to Jerusalem, the heavenly city, the Promised Land. People were afraid that Jesus' life was in danger. But Jesus took the trip.

If it were just about Jesus, he probably would have stayed in Nazareth. He could have worked in his father's shop, be with his mom, eat the food he was accustomed to, speak his own language. But Jesus took the journey, not for himself, but for us, he took the journey for me, for my salvation, for your salvation, for the salvation of the world. Jesus was resolute in his determination.

This week we read the story of another person taking a trip: Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez. Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez had the same resolute determination to go to the United States, his Jerusalem, his promised land. He made the decision along with his wife Tania and on April 3 he left with his daughter of almost two years. Like Elisha in the first reading he kissed his parents goodbye and started on his journey.

People tried to convince Oscar Alberto not to make the trip just as they had tried to convince Jesus not to go to Jerusalem. His parents wanted them to stay there. The trip was very dangerous; he would have to cross over land as a foreigner. They would meet problems, persecutions, but Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez just like Jesus had the resolute determination to undertake the trip.

It says that Oscar Alberto only wanted to go north in order to earn enough money to buy a house: a home for his family. The truth is I do not know much about Oscar Alberto, I do not know what kind of man he was. But I know he was a hard worker, I know he loved his wife and daughter. I'm sure if it were only for Oscar Alberto he wouldn’t have made the trip. It wouldn’t have been worth it, he made the trip for his family, he made the sacrifice for them.

And the thing is Oscar Alberto had arrived. He had crossed the river; he had arrived in the promised land of the United States. He crossed with Valeria his little girl. He had crossed the Rio Grande carrying his daughter, as Jesus had often carried me in my life. I can imagine him with his daughter here, here in this land of the United States. Saying to her, "Mija, stay here. Papi is going for mama, I’ll be right back. You'll be fine, daddy will be right here." And then he left his girl and returned to help his wife. Imagine his horror when he saw his little girl get into the river. Valeria was afraid. She did not want to wait; she got into the water to be with her father. And Oscar Alberto, always thinking of the others, returned for his daughter. He did everything for his daughter; he had put her under his shirt so he would not to lose her. But it wasn’t enough, Oscar Alberto and his 23-month-old daughter died on Monday. As the Samaritans did not want to receive Jesus, we know very well that the Americans did not want to receive Oscar Alberto and Valeria.

The truth of the matter is if we cannot see the presence of Christ in Oscar Alberto we will never be able to see Christ. We have to see the presence of Christ in Oscar Alberto, looking at the face of Oscar Alberto we are looking at Jesus Christ. And saying that he cannot enter this country, making walls and borders, making the situation more and more difficult, we are simply making it more and more difficult for Christ to enter this country as well. We aren’t just keeping Oscar Alberto and his little girl out we are keeping Jesus out.

Now I would like to blame President Trump. I’d like to say that it is his fault that Oscar Alberto and Valeria lost their lives on Monday, and he is guilty. But I'm also guilty because I'm American. This is my country, and my fellow citizens have chosen Trump. We know very well that not only Trump hates immigrants but many of my fellow Americans as well. They say that if we are going to Make America Great Again we must first ensure that no more immigrants arrive on our shores. You want to know something horrible, and very sad.  ICE sees the death of Oscar Alberto and his daughter as a success. They mark their deaths, saying, "That's two that we kept out of our country." They hope that many more in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico will see the photo of Oscar Alberto and Valeria and they will say, "It's not worth it!" That’s what my president wants.

So what can we do? Well, for you who are citizens, you have to vote. And we all have to be involved and aware of the political situation. We have to be aware of the reality. If you are an immigrant, if you had crossed the Rio Grande, if you had entered this country without papers or with papers, then you have to tell the story. Tell the story to your children; remind them that you were an immigrant in this country. Then tell the story to your grandchildren so they too remember the story. So that your grandchildren will tell the story to their children, as my grandmother told the story of her father leaving Poland in the time of war and arriving here and entering this country illegally.

But the most important thing is that remember the name of Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez. We have to ensure that his death in the Rio Grande trying to save his daughter's life is not the end of the story. Just as Jesus' death in Jerusalem was not the end of his story. If we want to see Jesus, just look at the body of Oscar Alberto and his little girl Valeria.  It is there that we will see Jesus. It is there that we will find our salvation.