It’s an honor and a pleasure to be here with you all today representing the Evangelical community. We are all here because we have a burden. We have a burden for justice either in our own life or the lives of our friends and families. Today, I am burdened by the hardships my undocumented neighbors face everyday. I am burdened by my young friend whose dad was deported less than two weeks ago and whose family lives in fear that their mom and two oldest sisters will be deported as well. I am burdened for the young man from my neighborhood who is struggling through college with the hope that by the time he graduates, things will be different. I am burdened by the dad in my neighborhood who dreads even leaving our street for fear of being stopped at the checkpoints that are frequently set up around us. But perhaps the heaviest burden I carry today is for my Christian brothers and sisters. I fear that the Church might be missing an opportunity to be what Jesus has called us to be. I fear that instead of loving our enemies, caring for the orphans, and welcoming the strangers we are busy building walls, both figuratively and literally. I am afraid that too many of my brothers and sisters make judgments about Immigrants out of fear and ignorance and they are missing an opportunity to be more like Christ by loving their neighbors as themselves. My prayer is not only that freedom and justice will spring forth for my friends and neighbors, but my prayer is also that the Church will be the revolutionary agent of love and peace it was created to be. Will you pray with me as we lift these burdens to our Lord and Savior?
God, we know that you are a God of justice. We know that you love and care so deeply for the immigrants in our community. We know that you know exactly what it feels like to be a stranger in the land and we know that your heart breaks every time a worker is taken advantage of, a family is separated, or the dream of a student is diminished by our broken system. But we also know that you have created an institution that is the answer to all of our societal problems. You created the Church to be your physical representation on earth. Lord we pray for the countless individuals and families who struggle daily to live a life of dignity in a society that tells them they are less than. We pray for your presence to be felt in the homes of each of our immigrant brothers and sisters and Lord we pray for comprehensive reform that reflects the values of your Word. But Lord we also pray for your church, for our church. We pray that you will help us to see our undocumented neighbors as you do, as your beloved creation deserving of freedom and opportunity to live life to their full potential. We pray that you will help us to boldly stand and proclaim that you love the Immigrant and because of your deep love for them, we will love them as well. Help us to turn our pity into compassion and our charity into action. Help us to fight for your justice with unconditional grace and love. Lord, help us to be the Church you intended us to be and help us to love like you created us to Love. Lord, help us to me more like you. Thank you for this opportunity to grow in our relationships with you as we engage the hurting and broken world around us. May your name be glorified through our actions today and may the freedom you talk about in your scriptures be wholly felt by all of us here and those whose stories weigh heavy on our hearts. We love you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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