“Faith Matters” is a column that features pieces written by local religious figures.
(Opinion) As Christians, it should never be controversial for us to proclaim that we care about people. And yet, I find myself having to regularly justify why we should care about the very people Jesus encouraged to love: the least of these, the unhoused, the migrant, the marginalized, the outcast, the putdown and the put out, the people who get used as political footballs.
People like Kilmar Abrego Garcia or Rümeysa Öztürk who were unconstitutionally disappeared. Cancer patients who will miss out on life-saving treatments because research funding has been frozen. Veterans who will receive fewer services because of zealous cuts. Elders who will lose crucial benefits because a tech billionaire has mistaken common database notations for fraud. LGBTQIA+ folks whose very existence is under threat of erasure. Women who now have been robbed of the right to bodily autonomy. Religious and racial minorities who face even greater bigotry under the false promise of protecting equality.
It should not be controversial for a Christian pastor to proclaim that we are called by our faith to care about people. And yet, I imagine many are reading this column and wondering, “Why are you being so political, Pastor Jack? This is the Faith Matters column, not the Political Matters column!” That’s a fair question with a real answer: Easter.
Earlier this month, churches across the world retold the story of an innocent man unjustly condemned by a racist empire. A man who was an exemplar of inclusivity to the point of offending the supposedly pious. A man who preached in parable about God’s vision for a more equitable world. A man who offered physical and spiritual healing wherever he went. A man who was arrested for engaging in civil disobedience, overturning tables, and challenging the tyrannical powers of worldly greed. A man who was the fully divine physical incarnation of God’s Love.
This is not partisan. This is more than political. This is theological.
When Jesus was carrying the cross, an African migrant was walking by minding his own business. Scripture says that the Roman soldiers “compelled” this migrant, Simon of Cyrene, to carry Jesus’s cross. “Compelled” is a loaded word. They saw the color of his skin. They heard the language he was speaking. They saw the clothes he was wearing. They noticed the texture of his hair. For no other reason than they knew they could get away with it in a xenophobic regime, they snatched up this foreign passerby to torture him under the pretense of safeguarding peace.
No Christian should root for the Roman soldiers’ violent tactics. Similarly, if you are a Christian rooting for the unconstitutional detention of migrants in foreign internment camps, you have completely missed the point of the Easter story.
And thus, it is disheartening to see that the board overseeing Tweed Airport has publicly declared their intention to remain “neutral” on this topic. They seem to have missed the admonition of countless historical figures – like Elie Wiesel and Desmond Tutu – that neutrality in the face of grave injustice is in reality cheering on the crucifier.
In contrast, Moses and Miriam chanted, “Let my people go!” Micah preached, “Do Justice! Love Mercy! Live Humbly with your God!” Esther declared, “We have been called for such a time as this!” Daniel chose the lions’ den rather than bowing to the king. Shadrach chose a fiery furnace rather than complying with inhumane executive orders. And Jesus disarmed the empire’s weaponization of death, ushering in the kingdom of Love. Biblical faith inspires us beyond neutrality. So it should not be controversial to declare that our faith calls us to care about people.
The Rev. Jack Perkins Davidson is the Senior Pastor of the Spring Glen Church in Hamden, Conn.
Previous “Faith Matters” columns:
• Faith (Still) Matters
• Faith Matters: Gaza & Ramadan
• Faith Matters: On Passover & Redemption
• Faith Matters: Freedom Struggles & Holy Week
• Faith Matters: Welcome The Stranger