Finding Inspiration on Immigration in Strange Places // When Jeb Bush Sounded Like Jesus

I believe that there are rare moments when a person speaks to a political issue yet transcends political discussion to capture the clarity of one of the deepest pieces of all of our humanity…namely an ability to see love and speak of it for what it is.  I doubt I will ever vote for Jeb Bush…in fact I am very close to giving up voting altogether for a variety of spiritual and moral reasons dealing with what happens when we compromise parts of our morals and integrity for the lesser of multiple evils…but that conversation is for another blog.  Earlier this week, former Florida Governor and potential 2016 Republican Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush made the following remarks when asked about undocumented immigration, “what they did is not a felony.  It’s an act of love.  It’s an act of commitment to your family” (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/06/jeb-bush-immigration-is-not-a-felony-but-an-act-of-love/).  In one sentence, Jeb Bush spoke louder and clearer than most of our churches are willing to speak on immigration.  This is not a blog about Jeb Bush…as I am sure that he has said many other things that are very problematic…this is a blog about what and who Bush spoke to…love.

Sitting in a class on immigration last spring, I invited my classmates to dream of a time when there is not a need for borders or boundaries…a time when all people are able to share resources and live as one.  The responses ranged from being totally appalled to total shock that I would even suggest such a thing.  My God…a world without borders?  Where could I have even thought of such a construct?  The answer is found in the life and ministry of the incarnation of a God called love…Jesus.

In Matthew 25, Jesus states very clearly that love or the presence of Jesus will be found with “the least of these.”  The borders that we create…by their very existence…are created to leave out the least of these.  As we protect and create boundaries, there are always Jesuses at our borders.  If we continue to have views on immigration that exclude rather than include, we will be sacrificing the very God of love that we all claim to serve…who sits on our borders.

Amen.