Response
to the Immigration Crisis
St. Mark’s
Episcopal Church
CNN: On July 23, 2017,
dozens of undocumented immigrants were found in a tractor-trailer parked in a
San Antonio Walmart parking lot. Eight
of the people in the truck were already dead and two more died after being
hospitalized. Dozens more were severely
injured. These are just a fraction of the number of people who die each year
trying to flee their homelands looking for a better life in the United
States. Every year hundreds die making
the journey and most of the deaths occur while being smuggled.[1] One of the survivors of this San Antonio
incident said the smuggler told him that people linked to the cartel would
charge 11,000 pesos (about $540) for protection.[2] Many
migrants who cross the border illegally willfully pay smugglers to do so. Often
they become victims of trafficking – either coerced into forced labor or
prostitution.[3]
Genesis 37:23-28: “When
Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe. . . and they took
him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then
they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming
from Gilead, with their camels. . . Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What
profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell
him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother,
own own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by,
they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the
Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.”
 |
| Madonna con el niño |
New York Times: Elsa
Johana Ortiz Enriquez and her 8-year old son Anthony leave Guatemala and
migrate to the United States. On May 26, 2018 Elsa and Anthony are picked up by
The Border Patrol. Anthony is sent to a
shelter for migrant children. Elsa is sent back to her home in Guatemala. It is unclear when – or even if – she will be
reunited with her son again. Because the
processing and detention of migrant families involves multiple agencies –
Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Citizenship
and Immigration Services, and the Department of Justice and Health and Human
Services – there has been poor coordination making it difficult to track
children and parents once their paths are forced to diverge at the border.[4]
Jeremiah 31:15: “Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in
Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she
refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”
The United Nations’ Refugee Agency: Gang warfare and violence have transformed
parts of Central America into some of the most dangerous places on earth. In
recent years, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have experienced a dramatic
escalation in organized crime by gangs. Homicide rates are among the highest
ever recorded in these countries. From 2011 to 2016, the number of people from
these countries seeking refuge in surrounding countries has increased by 2,249
percent – the majority are women and children. Hundreds of thousands of parents
have fled with their families and, in many cases, children have made the
perilous journey alone. These unaccompanied children are some of the world’s
most vulnerable refugees.[5]
Matthew 2:13-15: After the magi had paid homage to the baby
Jesus and had departed, “an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and
said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain
there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy
him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to
Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.”
Over and over in the
past weeks I have heard people saying, “This is not who we are. This is not
America.” And while I would like for that to be true, the fact of the matter is
that this IS America and this has been America since its inception. Russell Contreras, writing for the Associated
Press, in an article this past week pointed to several examples of America
taking children from their parents[6]:
· Slavery – children of
black slaves were born into slavery and could be sold by owners at will; from
1835 until 1870 the Episcopal Church was, as a body, largely silent with
respect to the institution of slavery. It was not until the Civil Rights Era
that the Episcopal Church, as a whole, was supportive of the movement; however
many of our churches and their members participated in white flight thereby
denuding local populations of the diversity necessary for economic stability
and job creation. The black population remained largely walled-off in their
ghettoized locations, replete with few jobs, poor housing and even poorer
schools.[7]
We continue to see the effects of this today.
· Native American
Boarding Schools – after the Wounded Knee Massacre, Native American families
were forced to send their children to boarding schools. More than 250,000 children across Canada and
the United States were removed from their parents and placed in government- and
church-run schools. The goal of the
schools was to “Americanize” children by introducing them to white customs and
white history. The Episcopal Church ran at least 18 of these boarding schools
and has yet to apologize.[8]
· Poverty – in the early
1900s some states removed children from poor families and placed them in
orphanages. Within a couple of decades this practice stopped – for white
children – but poverty was still used as a reason to remove children from
Native American and black families.
This is what it is like
for non-white America. And those of us
who are white America need to open
our eyes to see this harsh truth.
Because until our eyes are open we are destined to repeat this ugly
history again and again and again. In
1944, Kaj Munk, a Danish Lutheran Pastor wrote the following words for a community
newsletter:
What is, therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: “Faith,
hope, and love”? That sounds beautiful. But I would say–courage. No, even that
is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is
recklessness. For what we Christians lack is . . . a holy rage–the recklessness
which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when
justice lies prostrate on the streets, and when the lie rages across the face
of the earth…a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To rage
against the ravaging of God’s earth, and the destruction of God’s world. To
rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are
sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the
madness of militaries. To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and
the strategy of destruction peace. To rage against complacency. To restlessly
seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history
until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God. And remember the signs of
the Christian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish…but
never the chameleon.[9]
Kaj Munk was killed by the Gestapo on January 4, 1944,
shortly after writing these words.
Our task today is
recklessness – the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and
humanity.
Leviticus 19:33-34: “When
an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The
alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall
love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the
Lord your God.”
Psalm 146:8-9: “The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord
opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; The
Lord loves the righteous; the Lord cares for the stranger; he sustains the
orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked.”
Hebrews 13:1-2: “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to
show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels
without knowing it.”
Matthew 25:35-36: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was
thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed
me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I
was in prison and you visited me.”
My friends, what is
happening at our southern border is an atrocity, it is a moral outrage, it is
Sin. And you and I must find ways to
channel the spirit of restlessness God has planted within us or our history
will only continue to repeat. We must
channel that spirit of restlessness to change history. We must recklessly rage against complacency. .
. . restlessly and recklessly seek to change human history until it conforms to
the norms of the Kingdom of God.
· Contact your elected
officials every day.
· Stay informed – read
multiple sources, fact check, read some more.
·
Practice Self-care –
yes that too is a restless, reckless way to change history. Turn off the TV and put your phone in a desk
drawer for at least a couple hours each day.
Go for a walk, read something “just for fun,” pet your dog or cat, play
a game with family or friends. It is ok to take a break. You will be a better
responder if you stay healthy and strong.
· And Pray – for God’s
sake and the sake of humanity – pray! and include a petition asking God to help
you know how best to use the gift of restlessness you have been given to help
in this present situation.
[1] Holly Yan and Jason Morris, “San Antonio Driver Says He Didn’t KnowImmigrants Were in Truck,” CNN, July 25, 2017, accessed June 21, 2018; and Holly Yan, “The DeadlyToll of Human Smuggling and Trafficking in the US,” CNN, July 27, 2017, accessed June 21, 2018.
[2] Yan.
[3]
Yan.
[4]
Miriam Jordan, “’I Can’t Go Without My Son,’ A Mother Pleaded As She WasDeported to Guatemala,” The New York
Times, June 17, 2018, , accessed June 21, 2018.
[5]
“Central America Refugee Crisis,” UNHCR, https://www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/central-america/,
accessed June 21, 2018.
[6]
Russell Contreras, “AP Explains: US Has Split Up Families Throughout Its History,” AP, June 21, 2018, accessed June 21, 2018.
[7]
Task Force on the Legacy of Slavery, “Call to Faithfulness; an Invitation toa Committed Journey. Final Report of theTask Force on the Legacy of Slavery: Executive Summary. Report to the 176th AnnualConvention,” November 22-23, 2013, Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, accessed
June 22, 2018.
[8]
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, “A Shocking History,” The
Living Church, February 28, 2018, accessed June 21, 2018.
[9] Kaj Munk in Anna Madsen, “KajMunk: Martyr, Mentor of Epiphanic Recklessness,” OMG Center for Theological Conversation, January 4, 2016,
accessed June 22, 2018.
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