Thank you for coming out this morning!
We are here because we do care. We are here because our hearts are breaking at the injustice and cruelty that we see on our border. We are here because we know that families belong together.
People of faith from all the great religious traditions agree that human connectedness, human compassion and caring are at the center of spiritual life, are at the center of a system of equality and justice; and where do we first learn these values? In our families. Children who are forcibly removed from their parents are in danger of learning that anger and violence are the only ways to protect themselves.
That is not the society we want to create. The society we want is one of equality, justice and freedom. That was the vision of the founders of this country when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these rights are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” They did not say, “all American citizens”; they did not say “all within our borders”. No they said “all men are created equal” and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That applies to women and to children. It applies to those who are coming to this country asking for asylum, hoping for a better life. They too have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Jesus asked his followers, “Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? And of course he expected the answer NO. But that is what our government is doing on our behalf. People are coming to our borders because they are afraid for their lives, because they cannot give their children what they need. And America, a nation of immigrants, is not allowing them to apply for asylum. We are not obeying our own rules but rather choosing to detain and separate and prosecute those coming to us for help and the chance to LIVE.
We are giving the children of the world stones when they asked for bread!
What’s more, now we are keeping more families apart through a blanket travel ban which targets specific groups because of their religion and country of origin.
I am an immigrant, I have an extended family of more than forty people who range in age from 4 to 84. I am the only one who has emigrated to America. If I were from Iran, Syria or Venezuela, I might never see them again. If I returned to my country to bury my brother, I might not be able to return to my family here. Regardless of religion, regardless of homeland, families belong together!
You are here this morning because you do care. You are here this morning because you want to build a society where all people are treated with dignity and respect regardless of their religion or ethnic background. We need to stand up to those who are using fear to enact unjust laws. We need to stand up to those who are profiting from the suffering of others.
But at the same time my friends, let us build the world we are longing for. Let us make sure that we support the families in our midst, many of whom are struggling to hang on as rents soar, and as their food stamps are threatened. Let us make sure that in our own lives we treat all those around us with dignity and respect regardless of their religious or political views. Let us say No to policies which divide and separate, policies which build walls! Let me hear you: NO to division and YES to the things that bring us together. Let me hear your Yes Families belong together Yes!
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