An impossible child?
Yesterday our Bishop sent out an email asking the difficult question of how we, as Christians and Episcopalians might respond to the, apparently, growing crisis around migrant detention and, specifically, the detention of children at the Southern Border of the United States. Instead of getting embroiled in party politics I would like to encourage you to begin elsewhere and that is with a child.
Try to fill in the following
Think of some words which describe a child.
What does a child deserve when they wake up in the morning?
How does Jesus view children in the Gospel? (look at Matthew 9:14)
In the Bible children are seen as a blessing, promise and hope. They are to be nurtured and protected. What might God expect from us in our treatment of and advocacy for a child?
Now where are we? Of course, we are getting conflicting reports from journalists, social services and others seeing different things. We know the strain on the immigration detention system is immense. This is not about finger pointing or politics - whatever you think of the immigration issue, however strict you think border control should be. But even if only some of what we are seeing is true, can we ever justify allowing or turning a blind eye to a child who is in need. Children follow parents, they do not choose, but they do suffer consequences of this political maelstrom.
What does God expect from us?
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