As I sat down to write this blog post, word has come that hundreds of people who may or may not be undocumented immigrants have been arrested and whisked away to an undisclosed location. Even as I write these words, the fear is real and the remembrance of another nation who did this in the 1930’s is harrowing.
This Sunday we read the story of Jesus proclaiming the passage from Isaiah that says:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
So many people in the United States claim to be Christians, yet they applaud binding up innocent people, blinding those who see too much, oppressing more and more people, all in the name of a false god. They turn against the teachings of Jesus and even call for the deportation of Americans who preach those very teachings.
Bishop Budde is a prime example of this vitriol. She preached the message of compassion, love, and hospitality toward all human beings, even those we don’t get along with, or think are wrong. And for this, members of congress are calling for her deportation. This is abusive and heretical.
It is time that all people of faith who truly follow the message of Jesus, the message of Isaiah, stand up and call out the false teachings being promoted by those who claim to be Christians, but deny Jesus by their lifestyles. Those people are easy to spot. They claim to be Christian but attack immigrants, women, the poor, and the LGBT. They promote abusive regimes that disappear people in the middle of the night. They support anti-religious dictators who spend their time finding new ways to make the marginalized lives unbearable.
We can either be true to our faith or finally admit that we are not Christians and that we do not follow Jesus.
Like Bishop Budde, I call on all people of faith to show compassion, love, and kindness to all people. To stand up for the rights of those most in need of our support. To protect immigrants, women, people of color, and the LGBT community.
To do otherwise is not just unholy, but un-Christlike.
Which side will you choose?
Pax et Bonum,
Bishop Greer Godsey