I don’t have a meme or a soundbite. There isn’t anything snarky that I can say, no takedown that I am able to throw out there on social media or from the pulpit. All I have right now is a heart that is broken and a spirit that is shaken, and all I can do is weep with the rest of the Body of Christ.
While away on our honeymoon in Greece my wife Kristen and I had limited access to wifi and thus could not keep up regularly with the goings on in the world. Yet when we occasionally were able to post pictures of our travels we saw scenes from home showing what was happening at the US-Mexico border. The hot-button topic of immigration had, it seemed, reached a boiling point with the implementation of the so-called “zero tolerance policy” that was literally ripping children from their parents at the border, placing them in cages that hearken to the forced encampment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War. We were both sick over what we saw, and as we sat in the Grotto of St. Paul, outside the ruins of ancient Ephesus in Turkey, we looked upon the frescos of Jesus and saints like Paul and Thekla, and through our tears we prayed. It was all we could do.
I did not preach this past Sunday due to having just returned from that trip, but I was blessed to hear our retired deacon do what deacons do best: preach truth to power. He named the sins of hatred that have infected the hearts of many alleged followers of Jesus of Nazareth and compelled us not to give in to such rhetoric, but rather to focus on the mustard seed moments, those tiny morsels of grace and love that, when watered and nurtured by God, grow mightily and conquer such hate. I am grateful for my brother’s words that day, but as I return to the church office and my regular routines there is much that troubles me about what is happening in our country, and what’s more, how far we are from doing anything about it.
When I say “we” I mean folks like me; that is, white, middle-class Christian folk. The truth is that the current situation on our border does not directly affect most people like me. I live in a state that is not on the border and preach to a congregation that does not have a single Spanish-speaking person in it. Since returning from the honeymoon no one has asked either my wife (who is also a seminary-educated minister) or me what we think of what is going on down on the border. Furthermore, there is little outrage over the fact that the current administration in Washington is citing Scripture (badly, I might add) to condone their policies and the procedure of separating children from their families. If anything I am seeing social media post after social media post from folks like me—again, white, middle class Christians—showing no compassion for these children and citing passages of Scripture (again, badly) that they claim as grounds for such behavior. And all I can wonder is which Jesus they actually know.
When he was still the bishop of my diocese, The Most Rev. Michael Curry (you know, the Royal Wedding guy) told us clergy to be mindful of something: “There is a difference,” he said, “between Jesus and JAYSUSUH! The former comes preaching the Good News of love for God and one’s neighbor, but the latter comes preaching judgment and condemnation.” Too many of the folks like me seem to prefer the latter. That is the only explanation that I can come up with for how anyone claiming to follow the Way of Jesus of Nazareth can possibly condone the actions of the current administration. Such actions have repeatedly denied the humanity of refugees and immigrants, even though Jesus’ own family lived as refugees in Egypt, and has touted the power and authority of the state over that of one’s own conscience, even though Jesus himself was killed by the state for an unjust cause. Thus, all I can reckon is that such folks who support such actions are not actually followers of Jesus, but rather of JAYSUSUH!
For if one were to truly follow Jesus one would hear his words echo in his or her heart: “For I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matthew 25)”, “Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6)”, “Give to anyone who asks of you (Matthew 5 and Luke 6)”, “Whoever is not against us is for us (Mark 9)”, and I could go on. At the core of these and all of Jesus’ saying is the clear message that to love God and to love one’s neighbor is the greatest of all commandments, meaning that love is the foundation of everything that it means to be a Christian. If there is no love, there is no Jesus. Again, to quote Bishop Curry: “If it ain’t about love, it ain’t about Jesus of Nazareth.” Truth.
But what is most unsettling to me is the willingness of many alleged Christians to go along with a sinful administration simply because they are in power and because St. Paul once wrote to a frightened congregation in Rome, which was teetering on the edge of extinction, to follow those in authority for the sake of their own survival (Romans 13). What such folks fail to remember, however, is that their allegiance and loyalties and identities do not lie in authority figures, nor in America itself. To be a Christian means that Christ, and Christ alone, is our identity. There is nothing else! This is what Paul means when he says “there is no male or female, slave or free, Greek or Jew, but all are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3).” Jesus Christ, the living embodiment of the love of God, is the ONLY allegiance to which we pledge ourselves. To put the laws of government, or even the words of St. Paul, above those of Jesus Christ is heretical. Period.
I do not expect much to come from this blog post; after all, I do not have the sway or the celebrity to affect any serious change with it. But I am a priest in Christ’s holy catholic and apostolic Church, tasked with preaching the Gospel in word and action, no matter where I go and no matter to whom I go. This post may bring you a sense of hope, and for that I am glad. It may also anger you, and for that I do not apologize. It is time that Christians everywhere take back the sacred and holy name of Jesus and take back the truth of his Gospel: that love is the only way. We will not succeed by flinging mud at one another, and we will not succeed in any sort of political coup or uprising. This is not the way of Jesus. Instead, the way of Jesus is the way of modeling love for others, even if they are incapable of accepting it. This is what I will continue to do, with God’s help.
For those still unsure about how to feel over the recent goings-on along the border, ask yourself if any of this is of Jesus. If the answer is no, then outrage is a perfectly acceptable thing to feel. But what you do with your outrage is much more important. Do not give in to the temptation to repay evil with evil. Put your outrage into action. Call your representatives and tell them to live the way of Jesus; after all, they’re all supposedly Christians. Keep modeling love, even when someone is hurling insults your way and preaching a false gospel about security or some other made-up excuse. And whatever you do, pray and preach with abandon and with the fire and passion and love of Jesus Christ.
I leave you with the only thing I could think to pray this morning when my wife and I did Morning Prayer. Here is the Prayer for the Human Family:
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and peoples may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, pg. 815
