Welcoming The Stranger?: KevinH
Yesterday, as many of my fellow Christians celebrated the inauguration of a supposedly more godly and more God-ordained presidency, I mourned what much of the church has allowed politics to do to itself.
I will continue to pray for the President and his administration and I will be thankful for the just and righteous acts that he takes, but I will also grieve the unrighteous, merciless, and malevolent acts that he takes.
Even as many of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ choose to ignore, justify, and even praise many of the evil acts that President Trump has already performed or has promised to do yet, I will not stand silent, even if it produces offense or results in my fellow Christians denigrating me and questioning my faith. It may not happen as frequently at this site as times past, but it will still happen.
Yesterday, President Trump closed down the asylum app used at the Mexican border for migrants to request asylum from the United States. In what has always been a LEGAL process, migrants coming from harrowing conditions and situations were allowed to come to our border without any documentation or pre-authorization and request asylum. In efforts to lessen chaos and bring better order at the border, the Biden administration had implemented the use of this app as the ONLY way migrants could request asylum and schedule asylum appointments at our southern border. The app is no more and now these migrants have no manner whatsoever to request asylum. Even appointments which had already been scheduled were cancelled, with the closing of the app.
Additionally yesterday, President Trump shut down the refugee resettlement program with no guarantees of if and when it will re-open. This affects refugees across the whole world, who also are fleeing terrible and dangerous conditions and have been granted by the U.S. through a LEGAL process to be resettled here. Once again, this action included the cancellation of existing cases of refugees who were already approved to come here and were just awaiting the scheduling for that to happen.
These actions by President Trump and his administration are cold-hearted, cruel, and wicked. The United States of America, with all of its problems, is still the richest nation in the world with the most resources and the most opportunities to afford people. If we cannot manage to take in any foreigner to help them, who can?
Such actions fly in the face of God who calls us to treat the foreigner as one of our own and to show extra compassion towards the downtrodden and needy. These commands are to the people of God and not directly to any secular entity. However, as God calls us to be advocates for the poor, the immigrant, and the “least of these”, we cannot be at peace with, or worse still – be praising actions taken by our country that repudiate God. This is no different than when our country and governing authorities take actions that allow for the killing of the unborn.
For the Christian who supports such actions, do you not realize that many of these migrants and refugees are your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you realize that some are fleeing because they choose to continue to worship Jesus in the face of violence and persecution that threatens their very lives? Do you realize that you are saying that you are glad that your country which is so rich and you want to be “Christian” and you claim to love so much, won’t even consider helping your brothers and sisters in Christ who are in great need? Do you realize you are family members with them in a much greater and much more important Kingdom than America?
No Christian, or no person for that matter, can say they are only against ILLEGAL immigration and are all for LEGAL immigration, and stand by these actions taken by President Trump and his administration. To do so is to be willingly duplicitous, and for the Christian, now is the time to recall the words of Jesus:
“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
Kevin-
As always, thank you for your simple but stout hearted stands on drawing boundaries that protect and preserve a faith that must be lived, lest it perish slowly and surely from the pollutions that seep in from of this world. Especially the ones that come with a “christian” branding to it.
I have been praying for mustard seed solutions to be planted and blessed that will exist for the migrants and refugees in the face of our chief beast shutting down the programs that express any kind of an American compassionate conscience.
I will gladly become involved in or if necessary start just mustard solutions whether planned and organized or just carried out as a series of ad hoc encounters to lessen the load and be a hands on advocate for the weary and wandering.
Just a few weeks before the election my wife and I discovered a faith based , Jesus rooted, social service ministry a few miles from where we live.
We are investigating ways to just show up and offer hands and a heart while praying Kingdom come prayers as we labor. I just bought a used pick up truck for the first time so I have something practical to offer.
They have a broad offering of service programs that benefit and bless the migrant workers in our area. In addition, they also have been an agency that temporarily houses those who have sought asylum while resourcing them to make connections with their US based family or sponsors. I will be checking in to see how the presidential orders of the beast and his broligarchy will effect them in the near and long term.
I pray for my fellow believers to be convicted for cheering on the way of the beast and to repent before they despise their birthright like Esau did for a piece of Maga branded red meat and stew and they choose to become like the beast rather than the Beloved.
We cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve the Maga version of Mammon and The Savior. We will love one and despise the other.
I do not make the final call on who ends up on which side of Christ in the end. However, I am commanded too and will make assessments based upon present dispositions and patterns of behavior as to who is following Christ today based upon the way of life He offers and commands and empowers for those who reorder their lives around the reality of who He is and how he builds His kingdom.
Thank you, Vic. And thank you, too, for your resolve to stand for righteousness and to help those who have and will suffer from the unrighteousness.
Wow.
Talk about speaking truth to power.
Sermonizing
Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde delivered a sermon calling for mercy on people who are scared. The new president was in the audience.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/washington-national-cathedral-bishop-trump-1235242803/
Kevin,
I appreciated the post. I don’t think most Americans will understand what they signed up for until things actually begin to happen. Most people reminded me of the folks that Jesus mentioned in the market who won’t happy dancing or mourning; they won’t be happy with anything. i am hoping that some of this stuff (like birthright citizenship) will be tied up in the courts for a long time. Mr T says we are the only country that offers it. I can’t believe that he would tell such a lie! The majority of countries do offer citizenship to people born in their country, and many people in the US have dual citizenship.
I was sad about the app going dark, too. People have been waiting for those appointments too long.
It is going to be 4 very long years…I am hoping and praying they will be 4 years of change for the American church.
Thanks, bob1 & Linn.
I didn’t know the title broligarchy existed till right now, and it’s sad and hilarious.
I read stuff like this and I can’t help but see the church further drown in its own excrement. I don’t think the church cares that these are brothers and sisters. They are brown. The church who voted in these new policies are white as wonder bread. Enough said.
How do you know these are brothers and sisters seeking asylum? Where is the proof? Anyone can build a case on whatever they want.
Truth Lover,
No one would claim that they are all brethren.
However. it is an established fact that many of them are Christians.
In any case, the biblical stance is that of mercy and compassion where there is no danger to others.
By the way, access to apply for asylum is in both American and international law.
I added a new page…”The Most Common Arguments Against Immigration And Why They’re Wrong”.
Link at the top of the page…
Truth Lover,
You may want to consider a different moniker because, honestly, that is one of the most insincere comments/questions I have ever seen on this site.
There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people every year who ask for asylum at our southern border and even other locations and/or seek to be accepted in a refugee program.
Beyond the countless documented stories and the data collection done by our authorities on these migrants, which would include data on religious affiliations, just the littlest bit of common sense would lead one to know that there must be some level of Christians among these hundreds of thousands of people.
Also, as Michael already pointed out, nowhere did I say or even infer that they are all Christians, rather I used the term “many” are Christians. “Many” is a very relative term that construes no specific number or percentage, but conveys that the number is significant (i.e. more than just a few or a tiny percentage).
Lastly, I personally know a migrant family who have become a part of our church family in just a very short time who are currently awaiting for their asylum case to be processed. They came here just this past summer, fleeing their home country because of persecution they were receiving explicitly because of the practice of their Christian faith.
Trying to disparage what I have written with such a disingenuous and foolish question/comment is anything but “truth”.
^^^
Why do so many fundagelicals still adore that man (Trump)?
To me it is totally baffling.
I saw a video clip of Franklin Graham singing his praises, and I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, fart, or cuss.
Probably all four, but I couldn’t predict in what order.
Muff- Speaking of Franklin
An assessment of Franklin playing the role of the puppet who ignores his father’s prophetic warning.
https://terrywalling.substack.com/p/waisting-a-legacy
victorious,
That article nails it. That’s what I remember of Billy Graham.
This all happened to the German people in 1933.
For the first time in history, we are in real danger of losing our democracy.
Be careful who you hate and broad brush about “democracy.”
“Billy Graham Walked A Line, And Regretted Crossing Over It, When It Came To Politics”
NPR Feb 24, 2018
From a NPR about Billy Graham:
“To some, he was “America’s Pastor,” a benign pater familias blessing the nation.
To others, he was the country’s leading hypocrite, in one moment preaching a gospel of love and, in another, advising presidents to escalate the war in Vietnam.”
His relation with President Nixon,
“The two men shared a passionate opposition to communism that would help power their rise to prominence. It also served as a bond between them. Graham was talking strategy with Nixon as early as the 1960 campaign, and he dropped all pretense when Nixon returned as the GOP’s nominee in 1968. That year, he endorsed Nixon and permitted the use of his endorsement in TV ads.
Thereafter, he was in close touch with Nixon on a variety of subjects, including tactics against the North Vietnamese. If they wouldn’t come to the negotiating table, Graham urged, the U.S. should bomb the dikes and flood vast sections of the country to collapse their economy.
He also took part in conversations in the Oval Office that veered into topics such as the domination of certain major newspapers and TV networks by Jewish owners and editors. Unbeknownst to Graham, these conversations were recorded. When the tapes were released in 2002, he said he could not recall saying these things but also apologized.”
“Graham has been credited with renewing the political activism of evangelicals, and particularly that of fundamentalists, who had recoiled from the soiling world of politics through much of the 20th Century. Southern Baptists in particular were often caught between two traditions, and Graham provided a kind of bridge for many to make the transition from the part of Jefferson and Jackson to the party of Abraham Lincoln.”
@ TH,
Would you prefer I use a fine point artist’s brush of fine sable?
Muff
Yes you should refine and consider why others have their views. Even Billy Graham has his ghosts and was influenced by power. It is a good thing his children have their own views, whether you agree with them or not.
It’s official — time to add 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to the national sex registry.