Acts 4:5-12 – The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. 11 This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ 12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”
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Psalm 23 (NKJV) A Psalm of David – The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.
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John 10:11-18 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away– and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
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This morning is the fourth week of Easter, known around the world as “Good Shepherd Sunday” because the scripture readings for today focus on Jesus as our Good Shepherd: the one who heals our wounds, cares for us tenderly, and lays down his life to save ours. I’ll be focusing today mostly on the 23rd Psalm.
I also wanted to share with you – as many of you know – I just returned from an intensive trip to our southern border a few days ago and I wanted to share with you what we saw and learned there. I can start out by saying our Good Shepherd, Jesus, is very much present at the border… very much present with God’s people there.
I went to the border, as you recall from the last time I was with you, saying I didn’t believe what we’re hearing from the media, and saying I wanted to know the truth.
I think we found the truth, as much as it’s possible in just a three-day visit.
I went to the border thinking that I’m able to discern what’s true and what’s not by reading between the lines in the news.
Boy was I wrong about that!
I went to the border wanting to return home and speak the truth.
That effort begins today but I hope and pray it won’t end today.
I went to the border, thinking I might find myself scared, or in danger.
We were not in danger, and I wasn’t scared.
I went to the border hoping to be fully present to the people I met, and hoping to share the love of Jesus. I came away feeling a bit overwhelmed with new information and experiences, and hoping we succeeded in representing well. But as our group leader Bri pointed out, “the reality is we are not bringing God to these places and these people, because God is already present.”
You are with us, Lord; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort us.
I went to the border, knowing this Sunday would be Good Shepherd Sunday, and praying that we would see our Good Shepherd in action at the border.
Jesus was there, and Jesus is there.
Our Lord is the Good Shepherd of all travelers – no matter where we come from or where we go. I’ve experienced God’s guidance on other journeys; it’s one of the reasons I love traveling. Our Lord truly shepherds us when we travel and brings us to people God wants us to meet. That works both ways: both for those who travel and those who are visited.
So let me tell you what happened!
First, by way of background: I was traveling with a group of women – 18 of us – from across the United States. We are members of Women of Welcome, an interdenominational Christian group who see Jesus in the faces of the people coming to our borders, and we meet mostly on Facebook to study together and advocate together.
Our time at the border was organized by a group called Abara – which means ‘ford’, as in crossing a river. Abara is a faith-based ministry serving migrants and refugees on both sides of the border. They provide micro-enterprise opportunities for women migrants; they provide supplies for shelters run by other faith-based agencies; and they provide meals.
At Abara we learned first off that in making these visits we need to be aware of the need for self-care: we need to rest, eat, and hydrate. We need to care for ourselves, and not neglect our needs, so we can care for others. We were also advised not to try to learn everything at once: take notes, take pictures, ask questions.
One of the first things we discovered is that the media has misrepresented many things, not just the things we tend to hear about at home. For example, the media has misrepresented us – you and me. The refugees coming to this country have been told by the media that we Americans hate them. They are told to expect to be abused. One of the best things you and I can do is prove the media wrong, every chance we get. All it takes is a ‘hello’ and a smile.
We can trust our good shepherd to lead us in the paths of righteousness.
Our group was staying in El Paso, TX, and on our first day there we crossed the river to Mexico and spent the better part of the day in Ciudad Juarez. The two cities of El Paso and Juarez are twin cities a lot like Minneapolis/St. Paul: they’re separated only by a river. It’s just that, in Texas, that river also happens to be an international border – but that wasn’t always the case! For literally hundreds of years El Paso and Juarez were one city in Mexico with a river running through it. The region was, and is, truly a “bi-national region”. It’s only since 1850 that the river has been an international border – before then, the city was one.
The really striking thing, which you see and feel right away when you’re there, is the total lack of any sense of conflict. The people of El Paso and Juarez love each other and get along together. Many of them are related; and it is very common for people to cross the river every day to go to work or to go to school. This helps explain one of the first things we saw when we arrived at Abara’s offices:
At Abara we learned even more about the media’s misrepresentations. For example: The city of El Paso has consistently been listed in the Top 10 safest cities in the United States – for decades! Right now I think they’re at #3 on the list. And while Juarez has had some problems in the past, safety there has improved a lot because the people demanded better. As visitors, our group was able to cross the border with no problems at all, both in a vehicle and on foot.
So what is the problem, then? And where are all the people coming from? What is causing this mass migration to our southern border?
The staff at Abara explained to us that the vast majority of people coming to our border right now, wanting to enter the United States, are coming from Venezuela – a distance of over 3000 miles.
You may have heard in the news that there are problems in Venezuela. There have been disappearances, boycotts, drug trafficking, narco-terrorism, corruption; the murder rate in Venezuela is one of the highest in the world. They have runaway inflation, and chronic shortages of necessities like water. Bottom line, though sources differ, almost eight million people have left Venezuela in the past decade. Not all those people are coming to America! Most of them travel to other South American countries, and those with money – about half a million so far – have gone to Spain!
But for those who decide to try to come to America – because of family or work or for a new start – there are no roads that can take a traveler from Venezuela to El Paso. There’s a place called the Darein Pass in Central America that is essentially a jungle – undeveloped, unsafe, and a haven for violent men. For people who choose to head for America, they risk their lives to do it. Many try to ride on top of trains, which is another kind of danger. People pass through rivers that run with sewage, and they deal with trees and bushes that have 1-2” long thorns on their branches. By the time the people get to our border they’ve lost just about everything but the clothes on their backs.
If people approach our border the legal way – which most of them want to do – they will approach a border official, and request asylum or some other form of immigration such as being a migrant worker; and then they wait. US courts are backed up; the wait for a court date to have one’s case heard can be weeks, often times months.
By the time people get to our border, they have nothing left but the clothes they’re wearing. Many are sick; many are injured; none of them have food or money. And when they arrive at our border they see a desert, and canals where the water has a deadly undertow, and a huge wall. So where do they go? What do they do? Should they try to find a space at an overcrowded shelter? Do they risk going over the wall, not knowing what will happen next?
Border Patrol agents we met told us the safest option for people who decide to climb the wall is to do it near civilization, not far away – and to locate Border Patrol immediately and request asylum – because away from civilization the mountains are dangerous and the desert is deadly. Chances of survival are best if they find Border Patrol right away.
Psalm 23 says, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” I didn’t see any green pastures there; the region is unimaginably dry. But people on both sides of the border take the time – and find the water – to grow beautiful gardens. The God-given impulse for life and for beauty are very much present and alive at the border.
Even so, sometimes we felt like we were walking in the valley of the shadow of death. We were literally walking where people have died. Where the countries come together, at the corner of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico – in the distance, on a mountain-top, the statue of Christo Rey (Christ the King) stands with arms up, looking out over the nations, reminding us that Jesus sees and knows. Our shepherd is here, and justice is close at hand.
“You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows…”
We are, each one of us, anointed with oil. All of us equally are the children of God, no matter where we’re from, or where we are now; and we will all dwell in the house of the Lord forever – no matter which side of any borders we live on today.
Jesus said, “foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus is with these individuals, and these families, as they approach our border. Our Good Shepherd walks with them, guiding them and keeping them. The fact they even survive to make it to the border is a miracle in itself. Jesus said, “whatever you do for the least of these you do for me” – not because Jesus has a political agenda but because Jesus really was in their shoes when he walked this earth; and Jesus walks with these travelers now.
What gave me great joy was to see that, in both El Paso and in Juarez, God’s people are stepping up to help. More people are needed to be sure; but with Jesus’ help everyday miracles are happening.
On our first day, we visited a migrant shelter in Juarez called Casa Eudes [photo]. This shelter used to be a Catholic girls’ school and now is a shelter for women and children. It is run by Roman Catholic nuns and sisters who have the biggest hearts for their people. We spent a few hours here… one of the first things I saw when we visited one of the dorms was this: [Jesus photo]
In this place, we witnessed joy – especially in the children. And when the children were smiling, their moms were smiling. In this place each person has their own bed, and their own night-stand to put their belongings on, and they have newly-remodeled bathrooms with curtains on the showers – restoring the dignity of people who haven’t experienced dignity for a long time. The children have a beautiful playground to play on; they also attend lessons; and the women cook for each other. The place is neat and well-organized, like any Catholic school you’ve ever seen.
There was a sense that we were standing on holy ground. And we weren’t told this directly, but it’s likely at least some of the babies we met were products of rape, because 90% of women making this journey on foot are raped. But the mothers love their children.
The sisters helped us all get to know each other – using the international languages of Jenga, laughter, and ice cream with gummi worms. It was a wonderful, warm afternoon. And we came away asking: why is this so hard? Or as our leader Bri put it, “How did compassion get so political?”
Later that day we drove to the Mexican side of the border and looked at the Rio Grande in the place where three states come together: Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. At this point on the border the river is not very high, and we saw some of the local people enjoying a swim with their dog.
We also saw a lot of high-tech government equipment on the U.S. side of the river: cameras, motion cameras, recording devices… it would be impossible to cross the river without being seen. Border Patrol is always nearby, and anyone crossing will likely be picked up in a minute or less…
…which, for people who want to move to the United States, is exactly what should happen, because contact with Border Patrol is the very first step in the long process of becoming a resident of the United States.
While we were at this place we saw an obelisk marking the international boundary. You can literally stand in two countries at the same time here, as demonstrated here by Abara’s Executive Director Sami.
The next day we met with two border patrol agents.
We heard the same thing from the agents that we heard from people all over El Paso and Juarez: they said, “we are not what they say we are in the media.” Border Patrol has been overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people arriving, and there are not enough officers to handle everyone; the Border Patrol needs more people.
Members of the Border Patrol are trained to be law enforcement officers, but they’re being called upon to handle a humanitarian crisis – something they are neither trained nor equipped to do. This is part of the reason why there is such a high suicide rate among Border Patrol agents. What gets to them the most are the migrant children. The officers said: “we’re moms too; we don’t want to see children hurting.”
What they do have to work with is the border wall, and the cameras, and motion detectors both above-ground and underground. Border Patrol’s job is to be present in minutes or less whenever someone shows up on one of these devices. They said they need more walls in some places, but they don’t need walls everywhere. The entire stretch of the border does not need a wall, they said. In remote places where there’s no wall, they watch for footprints, which are basically impossible to hide in the sand.
One other major problem for Border Patrol is the drug cartels. Organized crime today is EXCEEDINGLY organized. They deal in drugs, human trafficking, the sex trade, and extortion. It’s also important for us to know, they said, that 80-90% of the people smuggling drugs into the United States are American citizens who enter the country by air.
Our drug consumption in this country is one of the major causes of death for people in South and Central America.
One thing that kept cropping up in the background of all these conversations is that so much of the security and technology at the border was developed in response to the September 11 attacks. I’ve been sensing this reaction to 9/11 in the background for some time; because as a pastor, our American response to 9/11 reminds me of people I’ve known who have suffered great loss and have never properly grieved that loss.
What I mean is this: when an individual fails to grieve, a part of that person shuts down – a positive part of that person. They may get locked into patterns of behavior and ways of thinking that were appropriate once but are harmful now. They may feel very alone in the world, cut off from others and even threatened by others. As a nation, we responded to 9/11 with a war overseas and fighting each other here at home – and that hasn’t stopped. As a nation we have never worked our way through the grieving process.
At least this is what I think I’m seeing, but I wanted to get a second opinion. So at one point in El Paso I pulled Sami aside and asked him about this. Does what I’m seeing make sense to him? Are we still grieving (or failing to grieve) as a nation? Is that what’s causing the problems we see in our country today?
Sami thought about this for a moment, and then he said gently but wryly, “Americans don’t grieve well in general. It’s not the American way. We tough it out. We push through, we keep going.”
And we talked about other things the nation hasn’t grieved: our history of racial oppression, and what’s been done to Native Americans. Horrible losses for these people groups, but losses for ourselves as well – because there is so much good in these ‘others’ that we’ve missed out on. I mentioned to him something I’ve shared with all of you before: my friend Denise’s fear of the medical profession, because Black people aren’t treated the same as White people by many doctors. I shared with him how my going to the doctor with her was, in her words, “like night and day.” Sami said this was something he’s also been learning just recently; that the same thing happens sometimes in hospitals in El Paso. As a nation we need to confess these things to God – bring them to the cross of our Shepherd – and then face them and grieve them. The longer we put it off, the more strident the public voices will become – and the more harm we will do to ourselves and others.
Our final visit was to a migrant shelter in El Paso. This shelter is a very short-term shelter – the people here are usually here for just a day or two, maybe three. Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church feeds and houses about 100-120 people every night in their gymnasium. The shelter is run by a guy named Mike, who retired from 26 years of service in the Border Patrol, and is now running this shelter in his “retirement”.
The people who stay here have already made first contact with Border Patrol – whether they surrendered themselves at the gate or came over the wall, they are here now; and they have appointments coming up with United States officials. Sacred Heart also provides a clothing bank, a diaper bank, first aid supplies, and chargers for cell phones. (Cell phones are essential because it’s how intake interviews are set up.)
Speaking of the clothing bank: Mike tells us being able to choose what they’re is wearing is a major way to restore a person’s sense of dignity.
Meanwhile, outside the shelter, a mural on the wall tells the story of Jesus and the priests and the people who built this place, and who come to this place; and people pray at the sacred heart.
The Shepherd’s Psalm says, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
As God’s children we can claim this promise for ourselves. There is no reason to be afraid to get close to people who are coming to this country for help. There are people in this country who want us fear the people who come to our borders – but that’s not God’s way. God is very present in El Paso and Juarez. The people coming to the United States have to cross a river to come to us; and we as God’s people need to cross a river too – the river of doubt and fear – to welcome them and to give them shelter, knowing that Jesus will lead us beside still waters.
So where is our Shepherd leading us? We don’t know that exactly, except… ‘home’. Our Shepherd leads us to a forever-place for all of God’s people. One thing seems clear though: we will find our Good Shepherd on the margins of society: with the Samaritan woman at the well; with the poor and the hungry and the sick; with the migrants crossing the border.
One of our fellow travelers, Brittani, who helped organize the trip, wrote this on the way home:
“The border is not [just] one thing. It’s teenage Raina and her five-year-old son playing Jenga while they wait… It’s Sister Krista and Mother Sofia living with and serving vulnerable women and children every day. It’s Mike… it’s the Border Patrol agents, trained for one thing and struggling to do another. It’s Fernando from Venezuela in the plane seat next to me… [And she adds:] There’s no reason it’s not me and our girls in that shelter. I was just born here.”
Britanni also, on the way home, figured out how to spot immigrants who had just been approved and released into the US. This is something we read about in our book club book, The House That Love Built. The author of the book also learned how to spot people who had been recently released. Brittani, who speaks Spanish, found a young man from Venezuela sitting next to her on the plane home, and struck up a conversation. He was 23, traveling alone, and had spent three days on top of a train getting to the United States.
Brittani then texted all of us who were still at the El Paso airport to tell us what to look for, and other travelers in our group – Clare and Jane on one plane, and Eve and myself on another, spotted more. Clare and Jane helped families from Venezuela and Ecuador find their way home; and Eve (thank goodness she speaks Spanish) spotted a young woman traveling alone, and explained to her that when we landed in Chicago, I would help her find her gate for her next flight.
Can you imagine being in foreign country, where you don’t speak the language, can’t read the signs, and all you have is a small bag and a plane ticket to a place you’ve never been before?
Saviour, like a shepherd lead us… let this be our prayer.
I think one of the biggest take-aways from this journey, for so many of us, is the incredible amount of privilege we are born into just by born American. And how very much, as Christians, we have an obligation to use what we have in service to others.
The question in my mind and on my heart right now is: how can we join Jesus in caring for the people who look to America for help? What small part can we play? I am going to be focusing a lot of my attention on answering these questions over the next few months. I will be actively looking for ideas and opportunities.
If this resonates with you please let me know. I’m sure our Good Shepherd will be leading us. AMEN.
Getting Started 