rectors blog

World Refugee Day: Practicing the Love of Christ

June 20, 2018 by St. George's 1 Comment

Greetings beloved St. Georgians,

As I write this post, it is Wednesday, June 20, World Refugee Day. The reports of the past weeks regarding refugees seeking asylum at our southern U.S. border and the no tolerance policy of our government are disturbing to say the least. Over the past several days, we have heard more and more voices from all sides of the political spectrum calling on the government to end its practice of separating children from their parents. I realize that my message here is mostly a repetition of what others have already said more eloquently, but I feel that it is important that I add my voice and call our particular community to prayer and action. Just treatment of immigrants is one of the core themes in scripture and has been a core theme of Christian moral teaching for centuries.

Recently I heard an interview with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry who summed up the Christian approach by saying that Jesus told us to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Separating children from parents at the border is not loving your neighbor. As I have been writing this, an announcement has been made that President Trump has signed an order that that would allow children and parents to remain together while being detained. I am thankful that this action has been taken. However, it is still important to pay close attention to how people are treated on our behalf as U.S. citizens.

There are many views in our St. George’s family regarding immigration and what is best for our country. As a priest, I do not claim to know the best policy in order to solve the immigration concerns we face. I do claim, as a follower of Jesus, that we have a moral obligation to treat our fellow human beings with dignity and respect. We have a spiritual obligation to practice the love of Christ. Children and vulnerable persons, especially, are to receive our compassion and kindness. When people appear on our borders, because they fear for their lives at home, we can do a better job of treating them like human beings. It seems that the no tolerance practices of our government are intended to deter people from showing up in the first place.

The attorney general quoted Romans 13 last week as justification for the no tolerance policies of our government. If they want to use scripture as a justification for policy, I have an additional suggestion. Rather than quote a passage of scripture which was also used to justify the legal practice of slavery in this country, asking us to blindly accept the authority of the government, I would invite our authorities to look at the broader scope of scripture. Although there are times when God seems to have “no tolerance,” the greater witness is that God is extremely tolerant and flexible. God lays down the law, but then God also provides loopholes and exceptions.

In addition to Presiding Bishop Curry, our own diocesan bishops have spoken out on these issues. They are calling us to speak to our governing representatives and authorities. The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations has more information about reaching out to congressional representatives. You can find information here. The issues are greater than the separation of children and families. Will there continue to be access for persons seeking asylum and refuge? While these are complicated issues, I call us to pray for compassionate ways forward and to stay engaged. The treatment of immigrants and migratory persons is one of the core themes in scripture. Over and over, God sides with the people who are crossing the borders.

Your rector and brother in Christ,

Joe+

Hosannah!

March 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment

palmcross-web Palm Sunday Homily from the Rev. Joe Hensley, Mar 29, 2015

Hosannah! Hosannah in the highest! Today, Palm Sunday, we hear these words with new ears. We sing or say them every week when we celebrate the Eucharist together. Today we remember that the crowds who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem shouted those words from Psalm 118 as he rode on the donkey colt. They shouted Hosannah as they covered the road with leafy branches. That word, “hosanna,” literally means “please save.” Today, as we begin our Holy Week pilgrimage, we put into our hearts this same same word: “Hosannah! Save us, please.”

The origins of the Hosannahs and the leafy branches of willow or palm come from the Jewish festival of Sukkot, the festival of booths, which is a fall, harvest-time celebration. Bible scholars have long puzzled over why the crowds who are making their way to Jerusalem with Jesus for the springtime Passover festival would invoke the words and signs of Sukkot. One possibility is that the hosanna prayers were offered while praying for rain, for literal salvation from drought. “Please save,” becomes a plea for life-giving water. By reenacting the Sukkot liturgy as Jesus enters Jerusalem, perhaps the crowds are emphasizing their hope that he is a “rain maker.” These are a people who have long-suffered under the yoke of oppression by their own leaders as well as the Roman Empire. Hosannah becomes a political and spiritual cry: “Here comes the one who will rain down justice upon the heads of our oppressors.”

Jesus does not deliver the rain like the crowds expect. He does not ride into town on a war horse but upon a humble donkey. He does not occupy the temple but instead hides on the outskirts of town. He does not announce victory but instead teaches in parables. By the time Jesus is arrested, perhaps the crowds have become impatient. Maybe this teacher is not the savior they had hoped for. Their hopeful “hosannas” give way to frustrated cries of “crucify him!”

Holy Week is our journey from “hosanna” to “crucify him.” The pilgrimage will take us from the hope for salvation to the realization that the one who offers it to us has been slain. This raises some questions for us. Have we been among those who have denied knowing Jesus, like Peter? He we been among those who have stood by helpless or silent while other suffered, while the light of the world was cloaked in darkness? Have we been among those who played a role in the unfair suffering of others? The answer is ‘yes.’ We know our guilt. The purpose of this Holy Week pageant, though, is not to feel guilty. The reason why we dwell on this tragic story and come back to church this week night after night is not to wallow in our sin and shame. We take these steps together so that we can come face to face with the brokenness of the world, the brokenness of our own souls, and realize that we have a companion in Jesus. Jesus walks with us and will not turn away from our worst. Jesus accepts our hopes and our failures, our hosannas and our cries for blood. He accepts them and he redeems them. He is the true rain maker, the one who waters our dry and cracked souls with mercy and forgiveness. In Gethsemane garden, at Calvary’s cross, even from the stony tomb, he rains down grace in the face of violence. He rains down right in a world of wrong. He rains down love in the midst of hate. This Holy Week we are invited to walk with Jesus on the road of suffering and surrender so that we might better know the gifts he showers upon us. Hosannah, Jesus, Hosannah. Save us, please. Save us and help us, we humbly pray. Amen.