Two Birds (2/3): The Second Bird
“What do we do about current immigration issues?” This is a question one of you asked me a little over a month ago, and since then, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about this question, as I’m sure many of you have been, too. Before I get to addressing this question, though, I first and foremost want to thank that person for asking what is a really important question for all of us to be considering and talking about. However, after looking through news reports about what’s going on, talking about this with fellow pastors, even watching an episode of HBO Max’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver where he covers the topic of Trump’s deportation plan, I must confess that this is a very difficult question to answer. Even if I had a doctoral degree in this area (something I hope to pursue as soon as I am allowed), this would still be a very difficult question to answer. However, like I said, this is a very important question, and I want to give you all some of my thoughts on the topic not that they might be definitive answers but that they might serve as a catalyst both for getting all of our wheels turning and for fostering open dialogue about hard topics like this. That being said, before we can deal with a potential solution (a solution that helps to solve the issue of the Church’s decline which I addressed in last month’s newsletter), there are certain things that need to be understood about this question.
First and foremost, there is no totally “solving” this problem. Racism and/or xenophobia (under which immigration issues would fall), sexism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, all of these and more are problems that cannot be “solved” in the fullest sense of that word. For better or worse, humans have always been great at splitting each other up into “us” and “them.” As such, these various “issues” that have existed, presently exist, and likely will continue to exist throughout time and space are in fact symptoms of a greater problem: our deep-seeded hatred and/or fear of the “other” that arises out of human sinfulness. This separation of “us” and “them” then only finds further acceptance when the suffering of those we label as “them” means prosperity for those who are a part of “us,” an argument made by the Rev. Dr. Debra Mumford at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and that makes sense. Who among us, despite Jesus’ call to “take up our crosses,” doesn’t want to avoid suffering, right? However, in thinking about this in regards to “our prosperity resulting from others’ suffering,” the truth of the matter is that we as God’s people can never truly prosper if even a fraction of us are suffering, especially when that suffering is at the hands of another, be it directly or indirectly. Therefore, for us to truly prosper, all of God’s Children must prosper, too, which then leads us to the other factor we must understand and consider.
Secondly, to “solve” this issue (and I use this term “solve” loosely), we need to set aside our “side” on this matter. Whether a person identifies as a Republican Capitalist, a Democratic Socialist, a Communist, or something else entirely, these labels actually hold no meaning in this matter, because what we have before us is no longer just a political issue. We are not dealing with simply the legality of someone’s status as a US citizen. What we are dealing with, in fact, is a human issue because the issue at hand is the classification of others as “less than”; less than human, less than American, less than worthy of basic human decency, less than worthy of due process. In the case of Abrego Garcia, what we have is a legal immigrant being deported illegally followed up by a blatant disregard of court orders from our nation’s highest court in refusing to bring him back. To be clear, this is no longer an immigration issue; this is a human issue. As such, we as Christians need to realize that if/when we become complacent in the face of such an egregious disregard for justice, human rights, and basic decency, what are doing is choosing to ignore, if not deny, the fact that “all persons are made in God’s image” and even more so are deciding not to do as Christ commands us to do in “loving others as I have loved you.” Therefore, a big step towards “solving” this issue is seeing it for what it truly is and realizing that both what is happening and how we react to it affects everyone.
In closing then, let us return to the initial question: how do we “solve” these issues that presently stand before us? The short answer (or “the stone,” which we will expand upon for next month) is we fall back on the Bible. Very truly, these issues of racism, xenophobia, etc. were as much issues for people in the Bible’s day as for us because the people who lived out the Biblical narrative, just as much Children of God as we are, also feared and hated the “other.” Why else would Jesus have picked a Samaritan when teaching about who our neighbor is? Why else would God have sent Paul and others out to preach to and gather in those outside the Jewish faith? Why else would the promise of “a new Heaven and a new Earth” include no more conflict, pain, suffering? The truth of the matter is that God’s love for us knows no bounds, no demographics, no limits, and we are called to “love as we have been loved,” which is to say without conditions of any sort. So, how do we solve this issue? We love. We do whatever we can wherever we can and for whomever we can to help both make this world a better place and to meet the needs of those less fortunate/privileged than ourselves. Those who have hate in their hearts, we show them love by praying for them and helping them to see the damage such hatred causes. Mind you, this love will look differently in any given situation, but make no mistake: the answer to this problem (as well as the issue of the Church’s longevity) is “love.” I will expand upon that more next month, but for now, I will leave you with this question: What lines exist in your mind the separate “us” and “them,” and what can you be doing to love “them,” despite their being a “them”?