Love Has No Borders

Kindred in Christ,

Last week, Rev. Judy Schultz kicked off our new series reflecting on what scholars refer to as Jesus’ “inaugural address” of brining good news to the poor, liberation to the captives, sight to the blind, letting the oppressed go free, and declaring God’s favor (Luke 4:21-30). And this week I will preach on the second half of this story. We will explore how Jesus suggests that this political platform is good news for more than just the people of Nazareth, and this angers his hearers so much that they attempt to throw him off a cliff (Luke 4:14-21).

As we will see this coming week, Jesus crosses a social border, by insisting God’s mercy includes people from other countries and different religions, and this upsets the border-based politics of the Nazareth community so much that they wish to throw Jesus off a border that he cannot return from!

Sadly, more and more it seems we do our politics by creating boundaries, building walls, establishing borders. We separate and divide ourselves against each other so that border control now defines our relationships with each other.

And border control is at the heart of the conflict between Jesus and the people of Nazareth, and it seems to be at the heart of our own political conflicts in today’s world at every level.

Our recent presidential election further revealed the clear boundaries built and strengthened between Republicans and Democrats, and even within those groups’ lines are further drawn over who is a real Democrat and who is a true conservative. A border stands at the center of the debate concerning immigration, Syrian refugees, Palestinian Refugees, and all displaced people from Latin America. The terrorizing of immigrant communities in our country, through increased ICE raids, is justified in the name of border control. Wherever you find racism, prejudice, or discrimination you will find walls. Our economic system has created a stark separation between the rich and the poor. Within our own United Methodist Church, we remain divided over worship purity and a desire for correct interpretation of scripture and inclusion. And when it comes to our personal relationships, I’ll bet each of us can name the walls and barriers that have stood at the center of our families, friendships, and communities.

Whether our borders are geographical, physical, ideological, religious, or emotional, they first exist and arise from within us. We project the borders of our hearts onto the world and each other.

And as we will explore further this Sunday, there simply is no room for that in the politics of Jesus. To the contrary border crossing is a hallmark of Jesus’ politics. Jesus is the Border Crossing Christ, brining healing, companionship, and redemption to all people, regardless of what side they land on any given border. And Jesus calls us to embody these politics as disciples today.

I hope to see you in person or online, as we seek to adopt Jesus’ political platform our own.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz