Bigotry or A Sign of the Times

When an alien resides with you in your land, do not mistreat such a one. You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God. - Leviticus 19: 33-34

This is an embarrassing post. But, it’s honest and I think it’s a sign of the times we’re living in. Or, I’m just a big ole bigot.

Wednesday night I was on my way out of the office to head home when I got a call from a co-worker. He asked me if I was supposed to be meeting someone that night. I said no. He said that there was a couple outside of one of our buildings and they asked for me. I had no idea what or who he was talking about so I told him I’d head over. When I got there it was nothing I expected.

I ended up meeting a couple who had emigrated from Africa in the last few months. I think what happened was my co-worker either didn’t know who else to call and knew I was there so called me or since they had a very thick accent maybe something they said sounded like “Chris”. Either way, there I was. I soon learned from the wife that they had tried to get into an apartment but since they did not have a check proving employment for a certain amount of months they did not qualify for the apartment. The people they were speaking with suggested they find a church that might be able to help them out with a place to stay until they meet the requirement. In the meantime they had found a place to stay but they have recently been asked to leave.

Well, that’s everything I gathered. The wife was very hard to understand though she spoke good English. I asked what part of Africa they were from but I honestly did not understand. I told her I would give them my card and see what other resources I could come up with. Here’s the embarrassing part: as we walked back to my office I began to panic. With the recent incident in Garland, my mind started racing with scenarios like,“What if this couple is Muslim and they are going to make an example of me once we get into the office building?!” On the way back I walked ahead of them. I had them wait outside while I disarmed the alarm. I did this intentionally while thinking “What if?”

So, I invited them in. I asked them to sit in the reception area up front, again due to thinking “What if?” As I went to my office I was listening for footsteps following me to the back of the building. I got my card and put our parish office number on the back. I then saw that I had Catholic Charities’ and Helping Hands’ cards so I grabbed those too. As I brought the cards to them I was cautiously looking around corners to make sure they would not jump out at me to attack. I told them to give the office a call, it was open from 8AM-5PM. Well, turns out they work from 9AM-7PM. I then told them that I’d do some research and get back to them with what resources we may have, but until then to give Catholic Charities and Helping Hands a call. They thanked me, I got the wife’s name and number, and they left. The whole time we were in the office I was waiting for the husband to come and stab me. I tried to talk myself out of it but the fear did not leave until they left.

I really pride myself on trying to live out the Golden Rule and treating all people with love no matter who they are or where they come from or what they look like. But, I guess you’re not always going to be able to be untouched by the happenings of the times you live in. I was truly fighting a battle in my heart of whether to invite them in and just love on them without fears versus remaining cautious and guarding myself. I mean come on, for all I know they are devout Catholics!

I wish I didn’t feel that way but I did. Personally I just think it’s a sign of the times, though I wish we didn’t have to have these times.

To carry out such a task, the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to the perennial questions which men ask about this present life and the life to come, and about the relationship of the one to the other. We must therefore recognize and understand the world in which we live, its explanations, its longings, and its often dramatic characteristics. Some of the main features of the modern world can be sketched as follows. – Gaudiumet Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church inthe Modern World, Vatican II

FOLLOW UP: Since I wrote the first draft I ran into the husband again today. He was just sitting in his car I’m supposing hoping to see someone that worked at church to ask for help. He told me there story again, but I could only understand very few words. I did catch that he said they moved from Cameroon. Come to find out, they were actually told to leave today. I was able to get some numbers for shelters in Houston and then he left. Please keep Bentine and her husband in your prayers.