Tag Archives: Immigration

Storing Wealth

Kingdom Building

August 4, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:13-21

Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’ Luke 12:16-21

Cognate: 4147 ploutéō – be rich, having many resources*.

For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. — Revelation 3:17

Commit from Strong’s Concordance regarding the use of the word rich in the Lukan scripture above: (Rev 3:17) The Laodiceans had success in banking, trade, and commerce – but their “spiritual” lives paid “low spiritual” dividends (yields)! The Laodiceans were too highly motivated (conscientious) about “earthly” matters, and lacked real “spiritual” commitment for wise prioritizing*.

I am supplementing the scripture for today because I found the commentary in Strong’s Concordance very instructive. It was directly related to my search of the word rich from Luke 12:21. It referenced Revelation 3:17 so it is included as well as the Strong’s definition of “rich”.

I tend to agree with Maslow** that when one’s basic needs are not being met it is almost impossible for them to focus on anything else. The same is true of people living in fear of their safety. Both conditions describe the refugees fleeing from Central American coming to the USA and those together are the reasons these refugees are not deterred by anything; their lives are more worthless in their homelands than in our detention facilities. For people to even begin to come into wholeness they must have basic needs met and a safe environment in which to live. At that point they can receive and give love and grow into belonging. Not recognizing and responding accordingly to this basic psychology renders all our attempts at turning refugees away fruitless. We are most likely exacerbating the problem and may pay a high price for it someday. We must do all we can to reduce the chaos in the refugee’s homeland and for the ones arriving here adjudicate their cases as quickly as possible while providing humane treatment as they are processed. We may need to define some category of people who fall below the current definition of a refugee but who would be returning to harms way until their homelands recover from the dangers that are prevalent. Serious criminal would continue to be prosecuted and face whatever the result of that prosecution is.

Jesus makes clear in the scripture above that having riches is fleeting and meaningless for we are all going to die, as wealth is not transferable after death. Our misplaced efforts to store wealth to the detriment of others is worthless.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we worship idols of riches and guide us into the rich life of the spirit where love is the measure of wealth. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4147.htm
**https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

There Are No Borders in the Kingdom of God

Kingdom Building

August 3, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ –Luke 12:13-15

Jim Wallis, public theologian, describes racism as America’s original sin in his book America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America*. While I do agree with him, I also think we must recognize that greed is the idol that is the basis of racism and that we all to one degree or another suffer from the pandemic of greed awash in our world. I thought as I heard a politician on the news recently justifying the treatment of families on our southern border. “I wonder how long he would last sleeping on concrete under a metallic blanket with barely enough room to half set half lie down unaware of where your family is, and not speaking the language of the people in charge.” Being hungry, perhaps sick, with few places to go to the bathroom, no way to go anywhere beyond the cage is impossible to comprehend. I wonder how long I would last.

A few days earlier in a discussion with a friend, we considered how we react when we are left without a convenience. I described how on discovering that my microwave would not work; I immediately got in my car, drove to a big box store, and purchased a new one without any thought. I remembered driving all over the state as a state employee without any means of communicating with anyone as I panicked recently upon realizing I left my cell phone at home while driving 14 blocks to the pharmacy. And I am in a dither over the sports news source that provides my NBA Thunder games refusing to re-up its contract with the service on which I watch the games. I hope they get their dispute settled before the preseason starts or I will have to find a new service. This paragraph describes my privilege laced with greed. There is nothing inherently wrong with owning a microwave or a cell phone or watching basketball games. The sin occurs when we attain privilege at the expense of others.

Our immigration laws are broken because people get rich from their being broken. Until we the people rise and demand that those laws be adjusted fairly, it will never happen. The power brokers of greed are controlling our country and we end up supporting them because we, in the middle, have grown to enjoy the scraps of their privilege in our lives.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we allow greed to filter in and rule our lives. Teach us the worth for each of us when all have enough. Amen.

*https://sojo.net/about-us/news/jim-wallis-slavery-racism-and-america-s-original-sin

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Welcome the Stranger

refugees joseph mary JesusLiving in the Spirit
June 28, 2016

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14

But his servants approached and said to him, ‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, “Wash, and be clean”?’ So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. –2 Kings 5:13-14

The changes needed to correct immigration issues and provide for better security are not difficult. They should have been made a long time ago. It is clear that making the necessary changes would negatively impact the bottom lines for those who benefit from immigrants not being granted legal status. TV detective shows, often use the phrase “follow the money.” It applies to immigration reform as well.

When jobs are filled by immigrants at a lower pay with no benefits that could have been filled by a USA citizen, it undercuts our economy and contributes to poverty. This only happens when the immigrants doing these jobs do not have legal papers for if they had legal papers their employers would be required to meet the same salary and benefit requirements of a citizen. There are, however, jobs in our economy for which we do not have enough citizen workers to fill. Those jobs can be identified. There are people living in other counties willing to do these jobs. These people need to be vetted at the highest security level and those that pass be given a time-limited visa to travel to the US, apply for the jobs, and if they are hired, be granted a work visa, which could be time-limited and renewable based on the type job. The process now in place to make this happen is unnecessarily complex and fraught with all kinds of procedural delays (unless the immigrant is a star athlete from another country). If someone is hired in this process, and chooses to pursue long term residency they should have the opportunity to do that also. The legal costs of obtaining a green card is prohibitive for many people.

Immigrations for reasons other than work, like marriage or bringing family members to join others in the USA or providing asylum to refugees need also to be streamlined and all immigration processes need to be updated significantly for secure digital record keeping and accuracy. The uncoordinated and slow system we have now probably contributes to lessened security.

What does this have to do with our faith practices? We are called to welcome the stranger throughout the Bible. Welcoming the stranger represents a worldview that demands interaction with all of God’s children.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to welcome the stranger and share your love with them. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, 
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

It Takes All Kinds

Our-VisionEpiphany
January 21, 2016

Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 12:12-31a

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body…. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. –I Corinthians 12:14-15, 26

It takes all kinds to get work done. It has always been amazing to me how someone who knows very little about a problem can make an outsider’s observation about the problem and provide the insight necessary to solve it. For example, having supervised a few legal immigrants to the United States, I have observed that many of the current rules for immigration are totally unworkable really rendering the whole process a waste, in my humble opinion. I have wondered what would happen, if we used our sterling digital skills to speed the process and make it more accurate. I also wonder why immigrants coming here to work must have a sponsoring employer and a job before they can be processed. Why don’t we just have a system where potential immigrants looking for work submit the necessary paperwork, be fully vetted, and then given a limited time to enter the country and find work? Of course, I am an outsider looking in. From my vantage point, it seems there is a powerful force who likes the system just as it is where people who are in desperate need of work are willing to come here and work for less than would be required if they worked legally. This results in getting them here sort of legally and then opening the door for them to stay past their visa deadline putting the onus on the immigrant.

Many of these immigrants are our brothers and sisters within the Body of Christ. Others might be drawn to the love of Christ or at least less put off by Christians, if they experienced the love of Christ. Immigrants are suffering and we need to suffer with them until we can all honor one another and rejoice together.

Prayer: God of All, make us one in the Spirit, one in the Body of Christ so we can better actualize your love throughout the earth. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Common Ground

noamnesty1-750x400Living in the Spirit
July 16, 2015

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:11-22

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. –Ephesians 2:13-16 

Paul is described in our scripture today as trying to bridge the gap between two very different cultures to make them one in Christ putting to death hostility. The gentiles and the Jews had very different cultures, traditions, and faith systems. Making them one was like mixing oil and water, both very important nutrients needed by all.

Actually bringing two or more vastly different cultures together was not a whole lot more challenging then holding the Israelites together, as we see when we follow their journeys through the Hebrew Bible. The sad thing is we have not learned from either experiences of our ancestors in faith. The words of the prophets spoken to the Israelites 3000 years ago still apply to us today as do the teachings of the apostles. It seems human nature longs for the things that divide us.

I spent an entire career in human services picking up the trash left over from the abortion wars. While we people of faith invest countless hours of time, energy, and money in fighting each other over who was right or who was wrong, there were few who really cared about the collateral damage to the woman and children involved. They could have benefitted from reinvestment of those resources in providing services to prevent unwanted pregnancies, giving hope to young women who had none, and teaching all our children to love and respect one another.  These are tangible services that has been proven to reduce abortion.

We are now doing the same thing in regard to immigration. While there is very little in the Bible regarding abortion or homosexuality, welcoming the stranger appears over and over again from the beginning to the end. Jesus includes it in his laundry list of activities included in judgment. Will we ever learn?

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to being one within your love. Help us find the common ground to forge a brighter tomorrow for all your children. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Curing the Sick

Living in the Spirit
August 2, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 14:13-21 

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. —Matthew 14:13-14

Because we get so caught up in the story in our scripture today regarding the feeding the masses, we may miss this excerpt about curing the sick. Jesus was a healer. While most of us could recite a list of nuisance health related complaints from sinusitis to headaches to backaches and some are dealing with more serious life impacting and limiting illnesses, we often overlook the healing of our souls. It is interesting that even science is more and more linking our physical ailments to both our mental and spiritual health. I just read in the paper yesterday that people who give of themselves live longer, more productive lives. Perhaps this whole scripture is about healing.

Yesterday, the news showed a woman protesting the care of Central American children at the Fort Sill Army Base. She did not want her tax dollars wasted in such a manner. Some in our Congressional delegations are fearful that the continued use of Fort Sill as an interim place to house these refugees might lessen its ability to train soldiers. It is my understanding the facility was selected because the dorms being used were vacant. The Oklahoma Governor is demanding that the federal government keep its projection of only using the facility for 120 days. I wondered, if our political leaders have thought what might happen to Fort Sill, if we really stopped fighting wars. The dorms are empty for a reason. Could we actually be nearing a point when we will be beating our weapons into plowshares? What would the closure of such facilities do to the economy of our state? And what better use of these facilities could we make than protecting children from the ravages of the world?

People of faith have been ministering to refugees all over the world for years. Many of the countries surrounding the fleeing people have limited resources themselves. I take great satisfaction in knowing that my country, using my tax dollars, are providing the basics of life: food, clothing, shelter, and medical care for these children and youth. People of faith are also there for them, but so is our country. People of faith are still in harm’s way in the homelands of these children working to make their country safer and more self-sustaining but in the meantime we can at the very least see that these children survive.

Prayer: Heal our souls, so fill us with your love that we cannot help but love our neighbor. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.