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03/16/2024

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Church lady

Today is a special day. I will have the honor of speaking at Eden United Church of Christ, the home church of one of my Deaconette friends, Kathy H. I offered to give a talk on immigration and was kindly invited to do so. The special aspect of this is that the Pastor has given me his sermon time. It’s not lost on me that this is the season of Lent and churches usually have a template for each Sunday in Lent. I don’t know where immigration fits in this schedule, but I do know that the Bible is a rich source of instructions about the treatment of immigrants. 

That is what is so egregious about the way this administration is treating immigrants. 47 and his sidekick claim to be “Christians”. Of course, 47 holds the Bible upside down and says that revealing his favorite Bible verse is too personal. What sidekick believes is unknown to me but my guess is he is a great supporter of “Christian nationalism”. As for president musk, he claims to be a “cultural Christian”, whatever the hell that means. I doubt that any of them can quote any part of the Bible where we are instructed by God to feed the hungry, quench thirst, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and welcome the stranger.

Instructions from God abound in both the old and new testaments. As early as Leviticus 19:34 we are told: “The alien who resides with you shall be to your as the citizen among you;  you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” Then, in 1 Chronicles 16:19-22, come these compelling words: “When they were few in number, of little account, and strangers in the land, wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, God allowed no one to oppress them… saying ‘Do not touch my anointed ones’”.

Perhaps the most compelling Old Testament verse contains the words of the prophet, Ezekiel. The Book of Ezekiel says this in 47:22: “You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten children among you. They shall be to you as citizens of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.” Just last month 47’s flunkies detained undocumented parents in Texas on their way to an emergency medical check-up for their 10 year old US citizen daughter, who is recovering from brain cancer. The entire family, including the US citizen child, was hastily deported to Mexico. Here is where the cruelty becomes absolutely chilling to me. 

I have been waiting for a shoe to drop regarding our National Visa Center. This is the department that evaluates family-based petitions to bring certain family members to the United States and grant the immigrants a green card. I am mostly worried for my family from Sierra Leone in Africa. 47 would no doubt consider this a s**thole country. There are three young people waiting for permission to join their mother and sister here in Saint Louis. They have been approved for their interviews. This process may take several more months depending on the ability of our embassy in Sierra Leone to schedule their interviews. The more time elapses the more worried I get. So instead I pray for their safety. They have been thoroughly vetted and found to be acceptable for emigration to the United States. God willing, they will be here in the next few months.

So, I may be preaching to the choir today at a liberal Protestant church. My hope is the congregation members will learn truth about our immigration system and the dangers that it faces as 47’s minions try to achieve Project 25’s goals. You know, the Project 25 that 47 said he knew nothing about.