Dear Friends,
Immigration is a hot topic right now. It is certainly a complicated matter, especially in South Florida, where some who arrive on our shores are jailed then returned to their country while others are granted freedom. On July 4, we celebrate our Independence Day. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of our Independence Day, France gave the U.S. a statue, which they called “Liberty Enlightening the World.” We know it as the Statue of Liberty. How would she hear our current debate on immigration?
I wonder if she would agree with Emma Lazarus, who wrote the famous poem about her. Lazarus wrote that the “mighty woman with a torch,” the “mother of exiles” cries,
“With silent lips. ‘Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
As Americans, and even more so, as Christians, we need to re-learn the art of hospitality. In the church, we need to echo the words of our Savior, the spirit of which Ms. Lazarus captured so well, “Come to me all who are weary and heavily burdened and I will give your rest.” May we in the United Methodist Church truly be people with Open Hearts, Open Minds, and Open Doors.
Sam
Read the entire newsletter online: The Holy Post - Jul 07 [PDF]