"Others," Let This My Motto Be

last sunday in the church service, we watched a short film explaining a special offering that is taken up each year for the needs of the world.  in the lead-up to the film, a member of the congregation mentioned the millions of refugees throughout the world and compared their lives to the lives we lead here in our small community where most of us have comfortable homes, nutritious food, and are protected by the rule of law while being surrounded by the beauty of nature.  he urged us, who have so much, to think of the plight of those who have so little.

as he spoke and as i watched the film, i thought about how his words squared up with the hatred we hear being spewed from the white house and from many members of congress and with the cruel chants of "build the wall" we hear at trump rallies.  here in the community the speaker described, the vast majority of people voted for donald trump.  yet, as i visit with them, i don't sense the bigotry and hatred that they voted for.  we forget sometimes that our votes have consequences that we never intended, and, once having voted for a candidate with whom we come to disagree, it's hard to admit that we voted for the wrong person.  at times, we vote against a candidate rather than in favor of the person for whom we voted.  that tactic, too, often yields unintended consequences.

whatever the motives people had for electing mr. trump, he is the face of our country that the rest of the world sees.  i wonder if he ever thinks of the incredible courage and sacrifice those coming to our southern border seeking asylum had to have.  to leave one's home, the country of one's birth, and the comfort of everything familiar to trek hundreds of miles to escape the violence there and to seek a better life for oneself and one's family shows a degree of desperation that most of us never experience.  i wonder if he thinks of those who fled the violence of isis and the syrian civil war and their desperate struggle to reach safety as they headed toward shelter in europe.  the contrast between the compassion of many european countries and their people and the bigotry of our own government and its supporters is stark and embarrassing.

we need open arms, not walls.  jesus taught us to love, not hate, and to pray for our enemies.  there is no equivocation in his words.  he inserted no qualification that we put ourselves first and in fact, told us that whoever would be great must become a servant.  if we follow jesus, we don't put america first, we don't accuse those who come to us in want of being murderers and rapists, we don't refuse to help those who desperately need what we can provide.

may we have empathy for those who are not as fortunate as ourselves.  may we try to put ourselves in their shoes and imagine their great sacrifice and struggle in coming to our borders.  may we not blame them for being in need of our help, but welcome them with the realization that we who have so much are called to share what we have with those who have little.  may our hearts be filled with compassion, not fear and hatred.  shalom.