It’s not quite like the Fugitive Slaw Laws of 1793 and 1850, but Texas Attorney General wants to punish anyone who shelters or helps an undocumented person. The 1850 law fined and imprisoned anyone who helped a fugitive slave escape; Texas wants to prohibit “local entities” from adopting, enforcing or endorsing a policy that impedes its idea of what immigration enforcement should be.
Madison, Wisconsin, however, has welcomed Bhutanese refugees driven from Nepal because of their ethnicity. Churches have opened their doors and the state welcomes them because it remembers that without immigrants, it would not have been settled.
Welcoming the stranger is what we are called to do as Christians. Although our states in the Northeast are welcoming, we hear shouts from those who are being told their troubles are caused by immigration. We cannot sit silently by as power-hungry politicians use the language of hate to divide us.
Prayer for the Day
You call us to love and care for one another without limits;
But we do not follow your call without reservation;
You call us to be open to the infinite number of rooms in your mansion,
But we shut the doors of those rooms by color and race.
Open our doors to the variety of peoples around us
Enabling all who seek protection a seat at the table,
In the name of the One who gives us a new vision of your love,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We just try to ask the question, ‘What would Jesus do with this person, in this moment, to bring dignity and respect?’ We don’t make statements; we try to make a difference. It’s messy, but we’re okay with it.
Rev. Nathan Wendorf. St. Paul Lutheran Church, Harlingen, Texas
The work of God can never be illegal.
Ruben Garcia, Director, Annunciation House, El Paso, Texas
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.
Zechariah 7:9-10