At the Dividing Wall
Last night at Centennial, John Borden spoke with us from the International Institute of Minnesota. This is one of seven organizations in Minnesota that helps resettle refugees and offers educational programs for immigrants. I learned a lot from his presentation, and one of the things I found particularly interesting related to the title of session three of our readings: At the Dividing Wall. I can't remember the specific statistic - it was either 40 percent or 60 percent (either way, a significant percent) of undocumented persons do not arrive in the U.S. by travelling across the Mexico/U.S. border. That 40 or 60 percent actually come by plane - arriving in the U.S. legally, but then outstaying their visas. Which brings up the question of the usefullness of walls, fences, and borders in an effort to "protect" the U.S. from undocumented persons. But this is more of a logistical question than a faith question. One of the faith questions is what God calls us to do. Are we called to build walls? Fences? What about bridges?
In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul talks about divisions among the people of Corinth. He acknowledges reports that some are saying "I belong to Paul" or "I belong to Cephas". Similar, perhaps, to when we say "I am an American" or "I am a Mexican". We may be those things, but Paul challenges the people of Corinth and also us, with the question "Has Christ been divided?" He challenges the divisions that we create as humans, in the face of Christ who loved all and died for all in an effort to save all.
What sorts of bridges and/or walls can we envision Jesus building today? What would they look like?
As an aside, I was struck by the image used by Bill Nara in our Stewardship Moments, when he talked about his families use of the term "love tanks". When they are running a little on empty, and needing an extra boost of love, they ask one another for a hug, or to help fill their love tank, in the same way that we sometimes run out of gas in our cars. He likened the church to a community whose job it is, is to fill peoples love tanks, to support them so they can go out and love others and serve others. So I commend his comments to you for consideration - think about your love tank, what it's filled with, how full it is, and what you use it for.
-Melanie
In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul talks about divisions among the people of Corinth. He acknowledges reports that some are saying "I belong to Paul" or "I belong to Cephas". Similar, perhaps, to when we say "I am an American" or "I am a Mexican". We may be those things, but Paul challenges the people of Corinth and also us, with the question "Has Christ been divided?" He challenges the divisions that we create as humans, in the face of Christ who loved all and died for all in an effort to save all.
What sorts of bridges and/or walls can we envision Jesus building today? What would they look like?
As an aside, I was struck by the image used by Bill Nara in our Stewardship Moments, when he talked about his families use of the term "love tanks". When they are running a little on empty, and needing an extra boost of love, they ask one another for a hug, or to help fill their love tank, in the same way that we sometimes run out of gas in our cars. He likened the church to a community whose job it is, is to fill peoples love tanks, to support them so they can go out and love others and serve others. So I commend his comments to you for consideration - think about your love tank, what it's filled with, how full it is, and what you use it for.
-Melanie
posted by Melanie at 2:46 PM
1 Comments:
The passing of House of Representatives bill 4437 in December 2005 hit me with a shock that is difficult to describe. I am a pastor in a rural Minnesota community with an agriculturally based economy, and the majority of the jobs in our meat-packing plants are filled by immigrant labor (both legal and illegal.) Many of the people in our community are immigrants, and the students of our schools are 45-50% Hispanic. As a small town pastor, I am deeply involved in the life of our community and provide leadership for the United Methodist Church in our area. As I read this bill, I realized that if this bill was signed into law, many of my daily acts of ministry would be criminalized. Examples of some of my daily activites that would become felonies would include: providing formula for a hungry baby who was brought across the border by undocumented immigrant parents, performing marriage counseling with a family of illegal immigrants, and perhaps serving Communion to an illegal immigrant-- the wording of the bill was not entirely clear about Sacraments. My outrage was mirrored by a comment by Senator Clinton, who remarked "this bill would criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably Jesus himself."
Thankfully, the situation has not become as severe as it was looking in December 2005. When "Welcoming the Stranger" and "What's at Stake?" were published in March 2006, Cardinal Mahony was already calling people of faith to civil disobedience and direct opposition to this bill. Since that time, public outcry and protest have made it clear that the people of our country desire humane immigration reform. Without a doubt, it was this public outcry that prevented the bill from going through the Senate and becoming law. Discussions continue about what humane immigration reform might mean. As people of faith, we have great traditions of hospitality (Leviticus 19:33-34, Hebrew 13:1-2, etc.) and love of neighbor (Luke 10:25-37) on which we can draw as we consider these issues. So, who are our neighbors?
In the rural Minnesota town where I am in ministry, my neighbors include immigrants (doumented and undocumented) who are both adults and children. The connection between the underground economy of undocumented labor and poverty in our community cannot be ignored. 83% of the children starting kindergarten last year were in the lowest two income brackets (according to state records.) Realistically, this means that many of our youngest children do not have access to the basic human needs of healthy food, safe housing, healthcare, and quality education. How is Christ's command to "go and do likewise!" (Luke 10:37) made real in life and ministry in this situation?
The Conference of Catholic Bishops seem to have given us a good start in their five point "Justice for Immigrants" campaign. How will we add our own voices to this campaign to shape immigration law in a way that shows Christian love of nieghbor?
May God bless our efforts to live our faith!
Rev. Amy Jo Bur
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