Throwing Jesus Off the Cliff

Art by Craig Greenfield

One day Jesus was teaching in his home town synagogue of Nazareth. (The story can be found in Luke 4: 14-30 and Mark 1: 14-15).

It starts out pretty upbeat.

Jesus had just begun his ministry in Galilee and things were going well. In fact "reports about him spread quickly through the whole region." (Luke 4:14). He was filled with the Holy Spirit, taught regularly in synagogues and "was praised by everyone."

So, that Sabbath day in Nazareth, he went to the synagogue to pray. He was handed the scroll of Isaiah, unrolled it, and began to read: 

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come."

Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 61: 1-2. 

After reading, Jesus rolled the scroll up, handed it back to the attendant and said to those assembled, "The Scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day."

The curious thing is, that, at first, the congregation was "amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. 'How can this be?' they asked. 'Isn't this Joseph's son?'"

Nazareth being a small town, most people in the congregation probably knew Jesus. Many of them had seen him working alongside his father Joseph, as a carpenter. Hence their question.

Instead of putting their minds at ease, Jesus directly addresses their hesitancy to fully accept him, "You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: 'Physician heal yourself' - meaning 'Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.' But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown..."

Jesus goes on to mention Elijah and Elisha and how they ministered to foreigners instead of God's chosen.

Of course, this has the net effect of turning the synagogue crowd against Jesus. To the point that "they were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went his way." (Luke 14: 28-30).

What caused this flip-flop? What caused the crowd to go against Jesus to the point that after announcing the Good News, they wanted to push him off a cliff?

Why were they so angry?

Was it because Jesus was radically inclusive in announcing that he had come to help the poor, the oppressed, the captive, the blind and set them all free? 

In pronouncing extreme blessing, the day of the Lord's favor, Jesus didn't discriminate between those who were chosen and those who weren't. The blessing that Jesus was giving was clearly intended for everyone. Most especially those on the margins. The very people that he had come to help. The very ones who weren't even allowed into the synagogue to hear him.

Because Jesus' reputation as a miracle-worker had preceded him, it was quite possible that those sitting in the synagogue were now expecting great things - including miracles in Nazareth. So they were initially pleased.

But rather than fulfill their short-sighted expectations, Jesus goes on to tell them not to expect such things, because they would ultimately reject him for his open-door, no borders policy when it came to blessing.

To put in simply, Jesus was addressing a group of people who were deeply steeped in their own world-view. And it was definitely a Make Nazareth Great Again type of crowd. 

Having the benefit of history, it's easy to look back and think the Nazareth folk had it coming to them. After all, couldn't they open their eyes and see that Jesus was willing to include them in the blessing? Their inability to see Jesus' world-view is crystal clear. 

But what about us? Living in the US in the 21st Century?

How do we respond to those who ask us to have a more open-minded approach to sharing our blessings? 

According to the Federal Reserve, the US net wealth hit the $100 trillion mark in early 2018. It comes out to an average household net worth of over $300,000.

Obviously, there are many households in the US who aren't anywhere near this watermark.

Mary Catherine's Musings

It's no secret that income inequality is growing in the US. And for the most part, this trend is seen worldwide. And it may surprise you to know that there are many countries that have a better index of income equality than the US.

But the fact is there's plenty of resources to go around. We're just reluctant to share them. 

The question remains: What would you do if Jesus showed up at your place of worship next Sunday and preached from Isaiah 61, announcing the Good News? That it was intended for everyone?

Would we insist that our own be served first?

Would we extend our hands to the poor only after they qualified to receive help?

Would we keep those waiting outside our church doors at the border until they were proven worthy to receive asylum?

Thankfully, Jesus wasn't concerned about the deserving poor. That classification was far from his frame of reference. Having fled with his family to Egypt when he was an infant, Jesus knew first-hand what it was like to be a refugee. He knew the plight of the outsider very well.

And he remained sympathetic to their cause throughout his ministry.

Time and time again he chastised the religious leaders of his day for their short-sighted self-righteousness. In fact, they were the only group that consistently rubbed Jesus the wrong way. To the extent that he told everyone else not to imitate them.

In the end, Jesus is trying to reach us with the same Good News as he did with the people gathered in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth two thousand years ago. 

Do we still want to throw him off a cliff?

As my brother recently noted: "God loves everyone, including you."

Bible quotes from New Living Translation

A Former US Marine Almost Gets Deported; His Guatemalan Mom Saves the Day

Jilmar Ramos-Gomez (Michigan ACLU)

If you've ever wondered why a municipality decides to become a Sanctuary City, the story of one US Marine veteran who was recently detained by ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) may help provide an answer.

As reported by the Detroit Free Press and other news sources, Jilmar Ramos-Gomez was a US Marine, decorated for his service in Afghanistan. He is also a US citizen and had his US passport and other identification on him at the time of his arrest.

Ramos-Gomez was arrested for an incident in a local hospital. After he was released on bond, ICE officials transported him from the Kent County jail (in Michigan) to a jail in Calhoun County that has a lucrative contract with ICE, which uses part of the jail as an immigration detention center.

Reportedly, ICE officials had "confused" Ramos-Gomez at the time of his arrest and were set to deport him out of the country he had served. Even though he was a citizen.

Ramos-Gomez's mother got an attorney to keep the deportation mistake from happening.

This particular incident received nationwide attention, including much support from groups that were critical of county officials and ICE being "overzealous."

As a result the Kent County sheriff issued a statement, saying that the county will no longer routinely cooperate with ICE.

ICE issued no apology for its actions. While Ramos-Gomez is a US citizen, his mother is not. She's from Guatemala. Which should have nothing to do with the case. What was at issue was Ramos-Gomez's arrest. He had caused some damage at a local hospital - and had suffered from PTSD - since leaving the Marines.

Ramos-Gomez's Mother (Neal Blake, Associated Press)

It's pretty clear that what Ramos-Gomez, a former Marine who was decorated for his service, needed was mental health care. Not detention. Or deportation.

And it makes a person wonder how often this sort of thing happens across the US, when over-zealous ICE agents seek detention on unsuspecting individuals. Who may have no means to legal representation, or even know that they could appeal.

When ICE agents show up at meat packing factories, and make mass arrests, whole towns can be drawn into the immigration debate. 

Part of the "bottom line" of all of this, regardless of which side of the political fence you are on, is that it is not illegal to seek asylum in the US. There are quotas set by each administration in the White House. It should come as no surprise that the current administration had ratcheted down the quota for refugees to its lowest level in thirty years.

A fifteen-year analysis of ICE detention practices, conducted by the American Immigration Council found that detainees faced significant barriers. Like being detained in remote locations far removed from urban centers with social service providers. Parents and children rely on volunteers and pro-bono lawyers to represent them. Ninety-three percent of hearings involving families were conducted remotely, via video, not in court. Families had been subjected to overdetention by immigration officials. 

To quote from the American Immigration Council's report:

"ICE officers issued initial custody decisions that unnecessarily prolonged the detention of families. Immigration judges regularly found that family members were eligible for release, overturning detention officers' previous decisions to keep families detained. Among the detained family members ICE decided not to release, 59 percent appealed ICE's custody decision and were provided a bond hearing in front of a judge. Of these family members who had a judicial bond hearing 57 percent of them were granted a form of release by the judge. DHS officials regularly refused to set bond, or issued prohibitively high bond amounts, resulting in the overdetention of families. Immigration judges systematically reversed these no-bond detention decisions by ICE. When ICE officers did set bond for detained families, immigration judges routinely found that the amount was too high."

Is it any wonder why cities across the US are joining the sanctuary cities movement? Currently, there are over 200 municipalities across the country that are sanctuary cities.

With a president leading an administration in the West Wing that is decidedly anti-refugee and anti-immigrant, it's no wonder that the various agencies under its jurisdiction, including ICE, will also reflect the same bias. 

We could quote a plethora of religious sources (including Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist) that encourage followers to look after the stranger among us. Suffice to say that any country that contends to be faith-based while ignoring the plight of the afflicted really doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Non-Profits Step Up to Help Undocumented Refugees

The New York Times has done a follow-up report spotlighting a few of the many non-profits that have stepped up to help hundreds of undocumented immigrants seeking asylum that were caught by ICE and then subsequently dropped off, sometimes at bus stations, sometimes at the nearest homeless shelter, to fend for themselves.

Says the Times, "one way or another, once the migrants have been dropped off by discreet white Immigration and Customs Enforcement vans in border towns across the Southwest, they are no longer the federal government's problem."

What this means, in practical terms, is that once these families and individuals are dropped off, they are on their own while waiting for their cases to go through immigration court. 

The Times reports that "as the number of migrant families in recent months has overwhelmed the government’s detention facilities, the Trump administration has drastically reduced its efforts to ensure the migrants’ safety after they are released. People working along the border say an ever larger number of families are being released with nowhere to stay, no money, no food and no means of getting to friends and relatives who may be hundreds or thousands of miles away."

So there is a "growing network of charities, expanding along the border from California to Texas. Dating back well into the Obama administration, when the surge in migrant families began, these churches and other nongovernmental organizations have strung together millions of dollars worth of assistance to help keep migrants off the streets and speed their reunion with family members in the United States."

To be fair, this patchwork approach to helping undocumented immigrants didn't start with the current administration in Washington. However, it is the current administration's policies that have exponentially worsened the situation.

Reports the Times: "Undocumented migrants are held initially at Border Patrol and ICE facilities as their claims for asylum are registered. Previously, government agents would help coordinate plans for their release, contacting family members in American cities and helping secure transportation, even sometimes paying for bus tickets. When charity-operated shelters were full, government agencies sometimes held them a little longer, until they could be transferred."

But these practices, known as "safe release" ended in October because ICE has been overwhelmed at the sheer number of undocumented migrants seeking asylum.

The US system of handling immigration and refugees has been broken for decades. But those on the front lines, offering services to families and individuals point out that "the government has abandoned its moral responsibility to make sure they are released safely.

Under President Obama, the government also had no infrastructure to provide services to newly released migrants; instead, it relied on a cooperative relationship with private shelter operators. Now, the shelter operators say, that cooperation has become fraught."

So, as the current Congress begins to reexamine how the US treats immigrants and refugees, this network of non-profits is being strained to continue serving as the need increases. 

The good news in all of this is that we can directly help by providing monetary support. In the New York Times article, three organizations providing services to undocumented migrants were mentioned. Here are their websites, each with donation options:

Annunciation House (in El Paso)

Jewish Family Services of San Diego

Catholic Charities of McAllen, TX

And for extra credit here is an excellent blogpost by Karen Gonzalez on the subject of immigration and our conversation around it.

Resolutions for 2019!

Real Simple

We're a week into 2019.

Traditionally, the new year usually involves some sort of resolution making. As in, I resolve to eat in a healthier way; I resolve to exercise regularly; I resolve to take better care of myself.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these, I'd like to propose that this year - given the state of our fractured civil discourse - that we consider the following.

I resolve to make an honest effort to get to know someone who doesn't look, think, believe or act like me. 

It could be a co-worker, a neighbor, someone down the street or in your neighborhood, the grocery store clerk. Anyone that you find yourself regularly bumping into. And to make it fun, why not ask the questions beforehand: "Why do I keep bumping into this person? And what is the Universe trying to get me to pay attention to through her/him?"

Keep it honest. But keep it friendly!

I resolve to back off a bit from social media.

I'm not suggesting an out-and-out break. But something more subtle.

Refuse to make social media your main source of current events. Instead turn to a local/national newspaper that is reliable (meaning publishes reports from a variety of national news sources like the Associated Press, New York Times, other syndicates  that employ seasoned journalists). 

Do yourself a favor and cut back on all cable news, which isn't really news. 

Steer clear of programs that involve panel discussions of experts, that quickly dissolve into shouting matches. You won't learn anything from of them. Avoid programs that feature a host who is more interested in fronting their own opinions instead of letting their guests inform the audience. 

Learn the difference between a first-hand, second-hand and third-hand source. Make sure your news has a high percentage of first-hand sources. (Reading the ingredient label on processed food will quickly show how far away from real food it is. Taking the time to note how much information offered is first hand will help you determine the likelihood of its truth.)

Become really good at spotting the difference between a fact, an inference and an opinion.

Calvin & Hobbes

Develop/keep developing a solid network of a few friends you can depend on.

This means individuals you can meet in person or call. Not followers on Twitter, Facebook on Instagram.

And among them, be sure to include friends who will be honest with you. 

Read more books. Especially non-fiction.

Three years ago a friend challenged me to read more non-fiction than fiction.

At the time, my mix was 95% fiction, 5% non-fiction.

It was an adjustment, but now I've reached the point where my mix is closer to 85% non-fiction/15% fiction. I am a big fan of fiction. I love a good story! And sometimes fiction speaks to us in ways that non-fiction simply can't. For instance, Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Her book, although based on real-life experiences, was a work of fiction. But it spoke volumes about the evil of racism.

Reading newspapers and magazines is fine for having a birds-eye grasp of current events. But there are many events that are simply too complex to be covered adequately this way. It takes a book to provide background material, historical perspective and analysis leading to suggestions for action.

Get involved with your community.

Let 2019 be the year that you initiate, continue or expand your volunteer hours! 

Currently our country is going through a difficult period, within which non-profit groups are struggling with increased demand against a political climate that negates the need.

Let your good reading habits lead to a personal call for action! 

Annie Taylor Lebel

Don't let politics get in the way of finding a way to express your soul!

Realize that politics was never meant to be a substitute for religion. 

There is no doubt that the political climate in the White House has had an effect on religious expression - particularly among those of the evangelical stream. Despite where you may stand on the political spectrum, be sure to tend to your soul!

Tap Into Your Creative flow.

Oftentimes it seems like creativity becomes the prerogative of the young. But that's not necessarily the case at all. It doesn't matter what physical age you are. Here's a NY Times article that spotlights a few folks who took a creative leap and found a new, and successful career because of it.


Finally, focus on solutions, not sarcasm. 

Let your sense of humor work for you, not against you!

Happy 2019 everyone!