American refugees after rescue from 5 days in the Superdome - no future and nowhere to go
USA!.....We don't do Refugees....
As Thanksgiving approaches I wanted to discuss the irony of these times. You see, the Pilgrims were not referred to as ‘pilgrims’ until 1840. The stories retold in American History books have several coats of varnish by now. The passengers of the Mayflower were not headed to Jerusalem as Christian pilgrims would be expected to do; they were fleeing the bitter persecution they suffered in their own country at the hands of members of the Church of England.
They were refugees, not pilgrims.
Of late it seems that we Christians have traded in our brightly colored WWJD bracelets for darker ones emblazoned with NIMBY. I’ve read the Bible; I’ve read a whole lot of other books too. Stories are subject to interpretation. Yet anyone reading the New Testament surely comes away with the notion the Jesus was the Lion of the poor, the wretched (ratchet), and the rejected. He dined not with Kings and Queens but with beggars, prostitutes, and tax collectors. He fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and healed the sick. He told us to sell everything we own and follow Him.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, When Simon Peter raised his sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s slave, Jesus did not then empty his clip and finish him off. He ordered Peter to sheath the sword and He healed the wound.
It’s been popular in our history to use The Old Testament tale of Sodom and Gomorrah to condemn homosexuality as an abomination. But what Sodom and Gomorrah is really about is how we treat strangers and visitors; remember Jesus said in parable: ’Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
So I ask you to reflect now on those Christians at sea in 1620 fleeing other Christians and how Jesus might use parable to discuss our present day Muslims fleeing other Muslims from Syria and other distant war-torn lands. Humans with nowhere to go.
I ask you to fear not, as Jesus did not fear being handed over to certain death in the Garden of Gethsemane. To sheath the sword or holster your Glock. As our salvation lies not in this world but the next; but we will be judged by what we do this day and the next. Put that WWJD bracelet back on, pray that it does not sear the flesh of your wrist.
Suggested reading: Luke 10:25-37
American refugees after rescue from 5 days in the Superdome - no future and nowhere to go
USA!.....We don't do Refugees....
As Thanksgiving approaches I wanted to discuss the irony of these times. You see, the Pilgrims were not referred to as ‘pilgrims’ until 1840. The stories retold in American History books have several coats of varnish by now. The passengers of the Mayflower were not headed to Jerusalem as Christian pilgrims would be expected to do; they were fleeing the bitter persecution they suffered in their own country at the hands of members of the Church of England.
They were refugees, not pilgrims.
Of late it seems that we Christians have traded in our brightly colored WWJD bracelets for darker ones emblazoned with NIMBY. I’ve read the Bible; I’ve read a whole lot of other books too. Stories are subject to interpretation. Yet anyone reading the New Testament surely comes away with the notion the Jesus was the Lion of the poor, the wretched (ratchet), and the rejected. He dined not with Kings and Queens but with beggars, prostitutes, and tax collectors. He fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and healed the sick. He told us to sell everything we own and follow Him.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, When Simon Peter raised his sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s slave, Jesus did not then empty his clip and finish him off. He ordered Peter to sheath the sword and He healed the wound.
It’s been popular in our history to use The Old Testament tale of Sodom and Gomorrah to condemn homosexuality as an abomination. But what Sodom and Gomorrah is really about is how we treat strangers and visitors; remember Jesus said in parable: ’Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
So I ask you to reflect now on those Christians at sea in 1620 fleeing other Christians and how Jesus might use parable to discuss our present day Muslims fleeing other Muslims from Syria and other distant war-torn lands. Humans with nowhere to go.
I ask you to fear not, as Jesus did not fear being handed over to certain death in the Garden of Gethsemane. To sheath the sword or holster your Glock. As our salvation lies not in this world but the next; but we will be judged by what we do this day and the next. Put that WWJD bracelet back on, pray that it does not sear the flesh of your wrist.
Suggested reading: Luke 10:25-37