Unpacking Ideas

Sometimes our anger is righteous. Sometimes not. When our anger is not rooted in a righteous response to injustice, where does it come from?

Apparently, there is no legal reason to prevent the construction of the mosque. Local authorities have approved the plan to build the mosque. In addition, there is substantial constitutional support to encourage the building of the mosque. Religious freedom is a big deal.

As people of faith we may not agree on how to address the problem. We can debate the details. I think, though, we can agree that the current immigration system in the U.S. is broken, and has become inhumane. So, let’s fix it . Even if it might not be popular, even if it might not be comfortable, it is the right thing to do. Let’s be the Church.

My simple conclusion as a Christian was this: The policies that our Church endorses publicly ought to look a bit like the Jesus we read about in the Gospel of Luke (or Matthew, or Mark, or John). The policies we endorse as people of faith ought to protect our widows, care for our orphans, and welcome strangers in our land.

Comprehensive immigration reform makes perfect sense. Arizona’s behavior is like a canary’s warning to the rest of us. “We will not be like them!” Immigration reform makes sense biblically. As a faith leader in my community I am convinced we need to do something to fix the broken immigration system now in place.

Perhaps Arizona helps us see what we might become — our dark side. Arizona’s behavior might alert other more reasonable folks to say, “Hey, I don’t want to become like them. I am not that way. We are not that way.”

Let’s fix today’s broken, oppressive immigration system that rejects strangers simply because we are afraid or because they are different. Let’s fix a broken system that breaks up families and creates more orphans in our land. Let’s create a system that welcomes today’s immigrants by providing a path for them to become a legal part of our American society.

Let’s step into the light of the lamp beside the golden door and stand up for the richness of our real American values: We are a people who welcome the tired and poor. We are Americans.

For the children, let’s consider that our lingering resistance to comprehensive immigration reform might need to be questioned. Can we doubt our old ideas about immigrants and immigration reform long enough to have this better conversation and get a bit closer to a rational, more biblical policy that cares for all of our children?

I think effective immigration reform belongs in the middle. For me as a Christian, immigration reform makes perfect sense. And there’s good news. A middle-way approach to how we respond to our immigration crisis is being embraced by an ever-growing centrist group of religious leaders.