Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Immigration Frustration




Hello fine readers of this crazy little blog. I’ve invited a guest blogger, Reverend Barbara Gunsel (Pastor Barb to most), to share a sermon that she recently gave. Before you suck in your breath and roll your eyes, know that this blog welcomes people of all faiths and also those of none. It’s a simple little blog about the journey that we call life. So without further ado, I give you Pastor Barb’s sermon. ~ There is but one ride in this life … enjoy the journey! xo Y.

Sermon for July 9, 2014 - Matthew 10:40-42

There have been many stories about immigrants in the news lately. Most recently are the stories of the hundreds of children who have been coming across the southwestern border of the United States. 

Children -- traveling without parents or anyone to care for them.  Their parents have sent them here because they are desperate.  In most cases, the situation in their homeland is so hopeless.  They are willing to risk their lives for the chance of finding a better life. 

When I was attending seminary, I spent a month on a missionary trip to Mexico.  The poverty was extreme.  I met with squatters who lived in “homes” that were thrown together with scraps of wood and dirt floors.  They had no running water and no sanitary facilities in their homes.

I met with young teenagers who were trying to cross the border. They had such a look of hope in their eyes when they told us about the better life they were seeking. Unfortunately, their trips are dangerous and sometimes the travelers die in the desert.  Sometimes they are deserted by the men that they had paid to take them “safely” across. 

It is an old story and one that has been taking place for a long time -- people who think that their lives or their children’s lives will be better if only they can get to the “promised land.”  Take a moment and think about how desperate you would have to be to send your child alone into the unknown.

It is a disturbing thought and a choice that I am very grateful that I don’t have to make.  But even more disturbing to me is the reaction that I have seen from people who are protesting against these immigrants.  They rage against them with hate in their hearts.  Their perception is that some “foreigner” has had the audacity to invade their land.

They forget that at some point one of their ancestors was the foreigner.  Of course, there are people who will tell you that their ancestors came here legally and that is what everyone needs to do.  But the cold hard truth is that all of us, everywhere in the world, live on “stolen land,” land that once belonged to someone else.

Now realistically speaking, not every person who crosses our borders is an innocent looking for a better life.  And, perhaps the U.S. doesn’t have the resources to care for all those who are flooding our borders. 

After all, we seem to have a lot of trouble finding resources to care for the poor and destitute who are currently residing here.  Although, curiously, we always seem to be able to come up with the trillions of dollars needed to finance wars and the expenses associated with them. 

But that is another story.  So, for the moment let’s just stick to the children on the buses and try to think about how we, as followers of the Christ, should react. What would Jesus do?  How would Jesus react to the hundreds of children running across the U.S. border? 

Would he be meeting the busloads of children with a protest sign and anger and hate in his eyes? Or would he open his arms to receive them into his care? We all know the answer to that one.   Let’s see what Jesus had to say about how we should treat those little ones.

In today’s reading Jesus is speaking to the crowds and he tells them, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me …  whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple -- truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."

Jesus tells us that simple acts of kindness, those as simple as giving a cup of cold water to someone who is thirsty, will not go unnoticed by God.  In that simple act of kindness that person is in reality receiving God. That simple act of kindness brings that person into harmony and communion with God and God’s creation.

This passage reminded me about the desert water stations that I had seen in southern Arizona.  The stations were tended by people who leave clean water for travelers so that they will not die of thirst on their trip.  The simple act of giving a cup of cold water to a disciple has great significance.  It indicates that the giver is open to God’s message of loving-kindness shown to us in the good news of Jesus Christ. 

It stands in marked contrast to the anger and hate displayed by the protesters.  These acts of hate, violence, and rejection of others are also acts that display how we feel about God.  When we mistreat others and the rest of God’s creation, we are also mistreating and rejecting God.

Unfortunately, it seems that much of the news is unbelievably disturbing and disheartening.  I am truly heartsick over the acts of violence and cruelty that people can commit against one another and the rest of God’s creation. 

There are stories of unimaginable horror that happen in our own country and throughout the world.  Rival gangs indiscriminately kill each other and the innocent victims that fall in their path.  Human trafficking, including that of children, frequently takes place right under our very noses. 

The most heinous acts are those acts of cruelty to children and the most vulnerable of our society.  When that happens it is as if God’s cup of water has been tossed on the ground and crushed underfoot.

It doesn’t have to be that way.  In our Gospel reading today Jesus tells us that it really doesn’t take all that much.  All acts of kindness are important to God.  What may seem like the most miniscule act of kindness is important and is recognized by God.

Take a moment and think about the acts of kindness that you have shown or that someone has shown to you this past week.  Have you hugged someone or carefully listened to someone else’s problems?  Has someone attempted to quench the thirst of your soul?  What has that meant to you in terms of brightening your day or lifting your spirit?

And just as there are acts of cruelty, every day, throughout the world, there are also people who perform acts of God’s kindness for one another.  What makes the difference in the way that people respond to each other? 

It all lies in our perception.  Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”  If we look at each other and see the face of Christ, if we look at creation and see the face of God, then anything and everything is possible.  Amen.


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