From The Rector Of An Episcopal Church In Connecticut

Dear friends in Christ,

What is going on in the White House? 

According to media outlets quoting unnamed sources in a meeting with the President, confirmed in the media by Senators Scott, Graham, Durbin and others, the President yesterday used heretofore-unprintable language to describe sovereign countries, suggesting that the United States should take more immigrants from particular northern European countries rather than Haiti and countries in Africa.  Allegedly this language mirrors other slurs from the President about Nigeria and Haiti in a meeting last year.   These slurs are too damaging for me to print here, and besides, you've already read them by now.

Much of the press, and the nation, are in an uproar.  But there are corners of the conversation that have tried to turn the President's comments back towards his immigration policy, away from the unvarnished bigotry and hatred they represent.

That's something we should pay attention to.  The President's immigration policy, as best I can understand it, follows his belief that we should let more people from wealthy countries through our borders than poor countries.  That we should let in more white people than people of color.  That we should actively exclude the brown and poor.

Let's be clear; the folks that the President wishes to exclude are fellow children of God.  Many of them are brothers and sisters in Christ.  All of them are beloved by God.

To put a finer point on it, many of them are not only brothers and sisters in Christ in the general sense but are specifically members of our parish, members of this part of the body of Christ.

The President of the United States of America has, in effect, said that he'd prefer to exclude our brothers and sisters in Christ from this community from Connecticut from our country. TheDiocese of Haiti is the largest diocese in the Episcopal Church. These are our brothers and sisters that are being slurred.

Some commentators have responded, "We are better than this."  I appreciate that sentiment.  I'm not sure it's true.

We'll hear in the Gospel this week the call story of Nathanael and some of the other apostles.  When Nathanael finds out Jesus is from Nazareth, he jokes, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Except I'm not so sure he was joking.

We use boundaries of place, of wealth, of power, and of color to divide and separate one another.  Two thousand years ago Nathanael was unimpressed when he learned where Jesus was from.  But then when he actually met Jesus his heart was changed.

I'm not sure we're better than this.  I'm not sure we can extricate ourselves from the entanglement of sin that we're in.  But Jesus can.

Friends, we serve not a government, not a president, but Jesus.  And Jesus is the one who can change hearts, change systems, change relationships - change our world.  It won't be our politicians, our presidents, our pundits, or anyone else but the Prince of Peace who saves us.

Friends from Africa, friends from Haiti, friends from everywhere - Jesus loves you.  And so do Christians.

Christians, we are called to love the whole world.  Shouldn't we demand that our policies and our leaders act out that mandate?

The question for me this week is this:  Whom will you serve?  That's what I'm praying about.  All of creation is beloved of God.  Can we live as though we believe it?  Can we live that out?

 Lord, have mercy.

Yours in the strong name of Jesus.