During the fourth annual Scripture Day gathering in Dodge City Oct. 26, biblical scholar Msgr. Juan Alfaro drew comparisons between the shepherds attending Christ’s birth, and the people who struggle to cross the border from Mexico to the United States every day.

"Who had the great joy of Christmas [at the birth of Christ]?" Msgr. Alfaro asked the approximately 100 people gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. "The shepherds. Shepherds were very discriminated against. They were the poorest of the poor. And they were the ones who got the message that Jesus was there."

The gathering, which was presented in Spanish the previous day, came on the same day that President George Bush signed legislation allowing for the eventual construction of a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border.

Msgr. Alfaro has taught sacred scripture at the Mexican-American Cultural Center and at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio since 1973. Prior to the opening prayer by Bishop Ronald Gilmore, he told the Register that a four-mile fence had already been tried in El Paso, Tex.

"They called it the ‘Tortilla Curtain,’" he said. "They said, ‘Let them build the wall. We will eat it up.’ And they did. There are holes everywhere.

"It’s not right. You see free trade; they let all goods pass. But the persons? No. We are interested in money, but not the persons. It’s terrible."

Msgr. Alfaro was born in Navarra, Spain and studied at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, and at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He oversaw the construction of St. Rose of Lima Church in San Antonio, where he serves as pastor. His long-standing work with visiting Filipino priests resulted in the assignment of Father Rene Labrador, his former assistant pastor, to the Diocese of Dodge City in July.

In his opening statement, Bishop Gilmore called Scripture the "story of God’s grand adventure with the human race."

"In all my time with you, I have implored you to Listen to Him, as the Voice from heaven put it at the Transfiguration," he said. "I have implored you to spend time with the Word of God, to reverence it, and to absorb it. It is the story of God’s grand adventure with the human race. It is your story, therefore. In its pages, you find Jesus Christ, and you find yourself."

Msgr. Alfaro is a "gifted friend of the Word of God," Bishop Gilmore added. "We are fortunate to have him help us live with that Word."

Msgr. Alfaro used a deep understanding of Scripture to share insights into books such as Genesis and Exodus, as well as the four Gospels, which he explained told the same story from different perspectives, thus changing somewhat how people perceive them.

The book of Matthew, he said, was "written for the conversion of the Jews." The relationship of Jesus and his followers is compared to that of an adult with children.

"Jesus is ‘teacher,’ ‘master,’ ‘guide,’ and ‘father.’ If he is the father, we are the children. If he is the teacher, we are the disciples." The Gospel, therefore, imparts that the most important human virtue is "obedience," Msgr. Alfaro said. Prayers that reflect this Gospel message are said as petitions "to discern the will of God."

The books of Mark and Luke describe a relationship defined by collaboration, in which Jesus and his people are "all part of the same family," a family marked by friendship, in which Jesus gives the apostles "the power to cast out demons."

"In Mark 3:15, Jesus first calls his disciples to be his friends, [and later] he sends them out to work," thus sharing both his friendship and his power, Msgr. Alfaro said. The most important virtues a person exhibits, according to the books of Mark and Luke, are "love and loyalty."

"If you look at Jesus pragmatically as your friend, how will you pray? You tell him your joys and sorrows, plans and dreams. And you wait for an answer."

This perspective can cause consternation among others, such as when a man burst into laughter while taking part in Eucharistic Adoration. "When he was asked why he was laughing, he said that he had just told Jesus a joke," Msgr. Alfaro said smiling.

Another man was castigated for not genuflecting at Mass; instead, he simply nodded to the cross. When asked why, the man explained that he was in the home of his friend, and he was simply saying hi.

In the book of John, Jesus and his disciples are "two in one flesh; a communion."

"Whatever Jesus says he is, we are supposed to be also. He says, ‘I am in you, and you are in me.’

"How are we in Jesus?" Msgr. Alfaro asked. "When you put a sponge in a bucket of water, is the sponge in the water, or the water in the sponge? Both."

Considering how the book of John describes the Gospel, the most important virtue is "continuous awareness of Jesus in us, and our vocation to make Jesus present. … Who did Jesus say he was? ‘I Am.’"

"We have four Gospels," Msgr. Alfaro explained. It us up to "each one of us to write the fifth Gospel."