We Must Take Sides

This sermon was delivered at Trinity Lutheran Church in Galesburg, IL on 21 July, 2019. Video is available below the text.

An immigrant father, with his young daughter, coming to America in hopes of a better life- struggling to find acceptance, compassion, and work.

A black woman murdered in the street because someone thought she had a gun.

A black man, hands raised in surrender, gunned down.

Fear of immigrants, fear of people of color, violent racism, destruction of property, harsh terrible words spat out in hatred against those with darker skin or “foreign” accents.

These stories could have been ripped from this week’s headlines, but they were not. They are the plot of the musical Ragtime, set in 1906. My partner and I had the privilege of seeing Ragtime at Corn Stock theatre this week, and we were moved by the performances and the music. But we were troubled by how current it felt, despite being set 113 years in the past.

At one moment in the show, two ships pass on the sea. One carries Father- a wealthy white man off on a journey to the North Pole, the other carries Tateh and his daughter, Latvian Jews on a rag ship, trying to reach Ellis Island. As they pass, Father sings…

You're a brave man, whoever you are. Coming so far,

expecting so much.

A salute to the man

On the deck of that ship!

A salute to the immigrant stranger.

Heaven knows why you make

Such a terrible trip.

May your own god protect you from danger.

"Heaven knows why you make such a terrible trip” is the line that really got to me in this moment, and it brought my thoughts immediately to the crisis at our Southern border. The scene that is etched into my mind is that of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his toddler daughter, Valeria, the Salvadorian father and daughter whose bodies were found in a river near the US border. Like Tateh and his daughter, they were trying to reach safety in the US. Over half of the apprehensions at the US border are of families from Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras. And the majority of these families are seeking asylum from the situations in their own countries. Indeed, “heaven knows why you make such a terrible trip.”

When I look at the crisis at the US/Mexico border and the terrible humanitarian conditions at the camps, I am broken. But, when I was asked to preach this weekend and read the verse from Amos, I knew I had to preach about his words. Amos is one of those oft overlooked prophets, and the book that bears his name is primarily concerned with the treatment of oppressed peoples. The book of Amos is likely the oldest book of prophecy in the biblical record. Amos was likely one person, but this isn’t an autobiography. It was likely written in 760ish BCE and was specifically addressing the end of the Northern Kingdom (aka Israel.)

Let’s be very clear, this is not a “hey, God’s super proud of you” kind of prophet situation. This is a “God is really upset, and there’s no way to get you out of this” situation. For Israel, this is not a moment for repentance. This is a moment to listen. Amos is telling Israel that exile is unavoidable, and that they have brought it on themselves through capitalism, oppression, and the mistreatment of the poor. Biblical scholar, Donald Gowan, puts it this way: “Oppression of the weak and poor by the rich and powerful stands under the judgement of God.”

Oppression of the weak and poor by the rich and powerful stands under the judgement of God.

Amos speaks out against those who trample on the needy and “do away with the poor of the land,” and he reminds the people that God isn’t impressed by offerings or festivals that come at the expense of those in need. He calls to question the corruption of capitalism and court systems that make situations worse for those too poor to compete in the marketplace or navigate the courts. Amos condemns capitalism and consumerism when it comes at the expense of others.

There’s another moment in Ragtime, with Tateh and his daughter. They’ve left New York city, but he has a rope around his waist and it ties his daughter to him so that they cannot be separated. The rich, white, elite character Mother explains this to her son, saying “he’s afraid of losing her. Immigrants are terrified of losing their children.”

And yet again 113 years after the time portrayed in the musical, are we not seeing the same fears come to fruition at the border? Children separated from their parents, placed in holding camps. Under this administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy, and although there was apparently an executive order to reverse the policy, families continue to be separated because of loopholes in the court order. Even though, by law, these children aren’t supposed to be held in these facilities more than 72 hours? Many children are staying much longer than that.

According to the Washington Post, the “holding facilities” cost about $750 per person per day. And yet, children held in these camps have not been able to bathe for weeks. A flu outbreak has sent infants to neonatal intensive care. A physician visiting the camps, Dolly Lucio Sevier, describes the conditions as comparable to torture facilities. She described the conditions further as including “extreme cold temperatures, lights on 24 hours a day, no adequate access to medical care, basic sanitation, water, or adequate food.” Babies bodies and bottles aren’t being washed. Children don’t have access to age-appropriate meal options. So, if these things aren’t being provided to the detainees, where does the $750 per person per day go? Salaries and profits. There are people making a living off of treating people like chattel. At least five children have died. This IS capitalism at the expense of others.

Oh sure, I’ve heard the arguments “but why didn’t the come here legally?” Well, crossing the border and then asking for asylum IS a legal means for immigrating to the United States. Without a job or a sponsor, there are very few legal pathways to immigration in the United States, and asylum is one of them. Further, crossing the border illegally is a misdemeanor according to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Under US and International law, people DO have the right to cross the border and surrender themselves to start the asylum process. And yes, from that point they are taken into custody until their case can be heard.

But that “until their case can be heard” part? That’s where we’re doing it wrong. We’re torturing families and children because they are trying to follow the law- they are following the steps that are part of the US’ legal obligation toward asylum-seekers under the 1951 Refugee convention! It makes no sense! And what makes even less sense? Folks are turning a profit from this mistreatment.

This is capitalism at the expense of the poor and needy. This is exactly the behavior Amos is condemning when he’s speaking to Israel. Amos delivers a full on critique of everything Israel has done. They have flaunted their wealth, cheated in the marketplace, corrupted the court systems, exploited the vulnerable, all with the full blessing of religious leaders. The full blessing of religious leaders? Yep. And we’re seeing that in our current crisis too- somehow the religious right and its leaders believe that what is happening at the border is somehow God’s will- and that the mistreatment of others is somehow the Christian thing to do. Pastor John Pavlovitz put it this way, “ Our country is experiencing a real-time human rights emergency generated by our elected officials; many professing to be pro-life and claiming faith in a dark-skinned refugee Jesus—while allowing migrant families to be ripped apart and children to be housed in kennels and quoting the Bible while they do it.”

Our prophet, Amos? He saw this happening in his community, too. He understood that the religious authorities were twisting the law and shedding their humanity. He spoke truth to their power and authority and accused them of bringing ruin on the land. But Amos wasn’t just speaking to the rich and powerful. He was speaking to those being complacent- to those ignoring what was happening. Amos condemns both the perpetrators of oppression AND those who refuse to see that oppression is happening, and he wasn’t impressed with those who ignored the problem and hoped it would disappear.

We know, however, that problems that are ignored don’t disappear. Turning a blind eye doesn’t fix injustice. It isn’t enough to just not actively participate in oppression. It wasn’t enough in Amos’ day, and it isn’t enough now. As Archbishop Desmund Tutu once said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

Or perhaps the words of Elie Wiesel are more appropriate here- Wiesel, who witnessed the atrocities of Nazi concentration camps- a holocaust survivor who saw the worst of what humanity can do. In his Nobel prize acceptance speech, he said, "And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.”

We must take sides. We must actively seek justice and work to eliminate the causes of oppression- racism, classism, sexism, ableism. We must work to remove the powerful from their thrones of injustice, and we must fix the financial and immigration systems that actively harm other people. We must not continue to be complacent in the mistreatment of others. And that means, we MUST speak out against what is happening at the border and against those who continue to trample on the needy and vulnerable.

Amos closes his proclamation by telling Israel what will happen while they are in exile- there will be a famine, not of bread or thirst, but of hearing God’s word. The people will wander aimlessly, seeking God’s word, but they will not find it. There’s going to be mourning, pain, and sadness. There will be no peace. No justice. No comfort.

Thinking about these final words from Amos and the words of Elie Wiesel, brings me back to Ragtime once again. The final curtain call of the show, reprised a powerful song from just before intermission. It calls for:

A day of peace

A day of pride

A day of justice

We have been denied

When a man can live

And a child can play

We'll never get to heaven

Till we reach that day

So where’s the good news in all of this? Honestly, I struggle to find it in the midst of what is happening at our border. But I think it’s this--

We are not hopeless, and we are not helpless. Things have not gotten so bad that we are lost in the desert desperately seeking God’s word and not hearing it. We can still hear God’s words and still feel God’s push- a push for us to DO SOMETHING- to not stand in silence with the oppressor, but to take sides- God’s side- the side of compassion and love for our neighbors and our would-be neighbors. We have to remember that Jesus focused his ministry on the poor, the outcasts, the sick, the misunderstood- those the rest of society wanted to forget. We have to remember that Jesus proclaimed that serving “the least of these”- the poor, the imprisoned, the hungry, the stranger- is the same as serving Christ himself. My ministry friend Derek Penwell puts it this way, “Our ability to offer our open hands and our hearts to those who don’t look or talk like us, who don’t come from the same country or race or class as we do, is foundational to our identity as people who’re trying to live like Jesus asked us to live.”

It is foundational to our identity as Christians that we SAY something and DO something about what is happening at our border right now. There are many things we can do- protest, call our legislators, keep pushing for change and a good google search will bring up lists of other things we can do. I’ll leave you with just two suggestions.

Consider supporting RAICES- RAICES is a 501c3 nonprofit agency that promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees. The agency accepts volunteers and donations that action against an immigration system that breaks families apart and leaves millions without pathways to legal status. Or, consider the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, an ELCA organization working to respond to the needs of those seeking asylum.

Whatever it is, I pray that you will choose to do something. For Tateh and his daughter, for Oscar and Valeria, for all who seek freedom and hope.

Amen.

¹ Jens Mauel Krogstad, Jeffery S. Passel, and D’Vera Cohn, “5 Facts about Illegal Immigration in the U.S.,” Pew Research Center (blog), accessed July 17, 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/5-facts-about-illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/.

² Micah Luxen, Jessica Lussenhop, and Vaidyanathan, “Is There a Crisis on the US-Mexico Border?,” July 11, 2019, sec. US & Canada, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44319094.

³ Donald E. Gowan, “Amos,” in Introduction to Apocalyptic Literature; Daniel; Additions to Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Jonah; Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi, ed. Leander E. Keck, Nachdr., vol. 7, The New Interpreter’s Bible, general articles & introduction. commentary, reflections for each book of the Bible, including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books; in twelve volumes / [ed. board: Leander E. Keck ...]; Vol. 7 (Nashville, Tenn: Abingdon Press, 2000), 345.

⁴ Michelle Goldberg, “Opinion | The Terrible Things Trump Is Doing in Our Name,” The New York Times, June 21, 2019, sec. Opinion, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/opinion/family-separation-trump-migrants.html.

⁵ Reality Check Team BBC, “Who Decided to Separate Immigrant Families in the US?,” BBC News, June 26, 2019, sec. US & Canada, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44303556.

⁶ Steve Thompson, “Stricter Vetting for Migrant Youth Means Taxpayers Spend More — and Parents Wait,” Washington Post, August 29, 2018, sec. Immigration, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/stricter-vetting-for-migrant-youth-means-taxpayers-spend-more--and-parents-wait/2018/08/28/4dd74f4e-89e7-11e8-8aea-86e88ae760d8_story.html.

⁷ Caitlin Dickerson, “‘There Is a Stench’: Soiled Clothes and No Baths for Migrant Children at a Texas Center,” The New York Times, June 21, 2019, sec. U.S., https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/us/migrant-children-border-soap.html.

⁸ Matt Stieb, “Everything We Know About the Inhumane Conditions at Migrant Detention Camps,” Intelligencer, July 2, 2019, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/the-inhumane-conditions-at-migrant-detention-camps.html.

⁹ “Doctor Compares Conditions at Immigrant Holding Centers to ‘torture Facilities’ - ABC News,” accessed July 17, 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/doctor-compares-conditions-immigrant-holding-centers-torture-facilities/story?id=63879031.

¹⁰ “Doctor Compares Conditions at Immigrant Holding Centers to ‘torture Facilities’ - ABC News.”

¹¹ “How Does Seeking Asylum Work at the US Border?,” Public Radio International, accessed July 17, 2019, https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-05-01/how-does-seeking-asylum-work-us-border.

¹² “How Does Seeking Asylum Work at the US Border?”

¹³ John Pavlovitz, “If Your Church Is Silent Right Now—You Should Leave It,” john pavlovitz, June 19, 2018, https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/06/19/if-your-church-is-silent-this-week-you-should-leave-it/.

¹⁴ “#InContext: Archbishop Desmond Tutu – Human Trafficking Institute,” accessed July 17, 2019, https://www.traffickinginstitute.org/incontext-archbishop-desmond-tutu/.

¹⁵ “Nobel Prize Speech,” Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity (blog), September 19, 2017, http://eliewieselfoundation.org/elie-wiesel/nobelprizespeech/.

¹⁶ Lynn Ahrens, “Till We Reach That Day from Ragtime the Musical,” accessed July 17, 2019, https://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/ragtime/tillwereachthatday.htm.

¹⁷ Derek Penwell, “A Lack of Empathy: How White Evangelicals Have Failed Jesus,” Derek Penwell, accessed July 19, 2019, https://derekpenwell.net/the-company-of-the-eudaimon/2019/7/18/a-lack-of-empathy-how-white-evangelicals-have-failed-jesus.

¹⁸ “About RAICES,” RAICES, May 3, 2017, https://www.raicestexas.org/about/.

¹⁹ “Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service,” ELCA.org, accessed July 19, 2019, http://www.elca.org/Our Work/Relief and Development/Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services