Having a Jesus moment

I have shared before on this blog that I am Catholic.  Catholicism is a very real, and very important influence that shaped my consciousness and worldview.  I was raised listening to and reading and talking about the Gospel, so I often hear Gospel passages in my head when confronted with things I don't understand.

I'm having a terrible time understanding all the noise about closing the US borders to Syrian refugees.   Some state governors have passed executive orders saying they will not accept any more Syrian refugees.

I'm dumbfounded.  And my heart hurts.

I feel like I am standing in the crowd in front of Pontius Pilate, and the crowd is yelling, "We want Barabbas".  I feel like I am standing in the courtyard with Peter and he is insisting, "I do not know this man".

And I think of the words of Jesus in parable when He said:

'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

I had posted a couple of weeks ago, about The Hate Project.  I feel like that I am seeing and hearing more data points to validate that there has been as systematic effort to teach us to hate.

The displaced people of Syria have already had to leave their homes and possessions because of a terrible civil war.  They are just people like you and me, who used to go to work, and have dinner with family, and watch their children grow up.  Just ordinary, normal people.

And now that they have lost everything, and a small group of terrible criminals have organized to create terror, we want to turn our backs on them.

The same people I hear proclaiming we are a "Christian" nation so that they can deny civil rights to some among us are once again turning their backs on the teachings of Jesus.

And asking us to hate.

I refuse. And that is what I mean by a Jesus moment.

You may think that Jesus is a made-up person that crazy people believe in as a sedative to separate themselves from the harsh realities of life on planet earth.   I'm OK if you believe that.  But I believe Jesus is the Son of God, sent to save us from ourselves.   Usually that sentence is from our sins, but I believe it is from ourselves, and our terrible propensity to protect ourselves no matter how it harms someone else.

When I have a Jesus moment, it is a moment when my heart truly hurts for all the hurting.  It is a moment when I am so profoundly disappointed in the human species for failing to show compassion.  But it is also a moment when I know if I let my hurt and disappointment manifest as anger or hate, I am part of the problem.  For me, a Jesus moment is when I am called to answer with love.   To stay firmly compassionate, and refuse to join the haters.

So, if you can, please join in a compassionate, peaceful dialogue about why it is critically important that we find a place for all the Syrian refugees to rebuild their lives.

There, but for the Grace of God, go I.  We will never know when we will need the kindness of strangers.   If we buy into the fear and hatred, the bad people win.  Love is always the right answer.  And more of us need to find the courage to stand up and say so.