"Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Saint Matthew, Chapter 25, verses 36-40, King James Version
As a non-Christian, but a respecter of the teachings of the historical Jesus, I wonder if those teachings are alive and well today in Brownsville and the RGV where we have actual immigrants on our bridges.
Of course, we do have the Diocese of Brownsville Immigration Services, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Proyecto Juan Diego, and the South Texas Immigration Council to help immigrants navigate the legal hurdles, but also the Good Neighbor Settlement House, where meals are served, hygiene kits are offered, and dignity is restored daily to migrants, the poor, and the unhoused. These are not just services, but acts of compassion that seem to harmonize with Jesus' words quoted above.
OK, I know Trump once held up a Bible, but does he reflect what it teaches and, if you're a MAGA follower, do you?
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"I know Trump once held up a Bible, but does he reflect what it teaches and, if you're a MAGA follower, do you?"
ReplyDeleteGreat question because the teachings of Christianity, of whatever flavor, Catholic etc, are clear about this in the Bible. If you read the Bible and want to enact it's teachings in your own life, there are specific instructions given. These include treating immigrants kindly, feeding the poor, supporting those in prison. Sure, this may not jive with what the political parties in power today are saying or doing, particularly MAGA at this point in time, or the Third Reich in the 40's, or the Democrats in the 1800's, or the Roman Empire, or Egyptian pharoahs in Moses time... The Bible has existed and persisted before and after governments have fallen apart and disappeared. MAGA probably won't be a thing anymore a decade from now either. The Bible's instructions remain clear through the ages though.
I initially resented, then resentfully admired, watching others give food to beggars outside of grocery stores, to give an honest example. At first, I thought it was wrong-headed, that they were encouraging begging. But the fact remains, we were instructed by Christ to help the hungry. If you believe in the Bible's instruction, then you would do it. This isn't a question or a debate. Maybe it DOES encourage begging, but Christ never asked you to ponder or be wishy-washy about it. Christians were given a simple task to ensure people around us weren't hungry. That's it. Politicians at a larger scale, who challenge policies like providing free meals to hungry children in schools, are opposing Christ's message plain and simple. Frankly if all of the self-professed Christians and Catholics here followed the Bible's basic instruction, there wouldn't be a need for organizations as mentioned above to step in.