Sermon from Holy Way - Chris

Hi everyone!  Last Sunday, we were invited up to Holy Way Presbyterian Church in Tucson to speak some more about our experience as YAVs.  This is what I had to say for my sermon:

“For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it.  He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God…”

-Ephesians 2: 14-19

Thanks to all of you for inviting us to be present and to speak this morning here at Holy Way.  I have been watching and reading much, in the past few weeks and months, about the upcoming Presidential elections.  It has been strange to live in Mexico- specifically, on the border- during a time in which there has been so much discourse about so-called “border security” in national media.  Most people I’ve met here in the borderlands since my arrival on September 5th are dismayed, even scared, by the possibility of seeing further militarization and deeper division along the border.  I, for one, don’t know that our southern border policy currently accomplishes much other than to criminalize the poor who attempt to come to the United States and look for work.  During my time as a YAV, I have privately struggled to intellectualize the issue and figure out what would be the ideal way to stem the flow of drugs and organized crime into our country, while allowing law-abiding citizens to pass freely between the United States and Mexico.  But I haven’t quite figured that one out yet.  Bad on me, I guess.

But whatever political opinions we come to on our own, I think it’s important to remember that those who come here are not simply part of a “brown wave,” or looking to “steal jobs from good, hard-working Americans.”  They are people, with hopes, aspirations, fears, and dreams, just like you and I.  They are people who simply want to escape poverty or violence in their homelands, and feel they have no other choice but to leave.  I will tell you now about one of them whom I just met Thursday in the MRC.

His name is Javier.  We didn’t exchange many words on this particular day.  But after he had already eaten with a group of men from the overnight migrant shelter, I simply asked if he would like some of my juice.  He declined, and asked instead (very politely) if he could use our telephone to call his girlfriend in El Paso.  “Of course,” I told him.  She wouldn’t get off work until at least 4 o’clock, however.  So Javier settled into the chair in front of where I sat, at the desk in our office, at the back of the MRC.  And he waited, and waited some more.  After a few moments, he spoke again, and I realized he was tearing up.

“Es que quiero buscar a Dios, hermano, pero no sé cómo…” he managed, as a tear dripped from his face.  “I want to search for God, brother, but I don’t know how…”  I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I just sat with him and waited patiently, hoping he would tell me more about himself.  Javier and I sat in silence a bit longer, then I asked him where he was from, if he had been to the United States, and where his family was.  He told me he was from Chihuahua, that he had family back there as well as in San Diego, El Paso, and Denver.  He had spent time with his family in all three cities, but was separated from them now.  He helped himself to a Kleenex as he was telling me this, and I asked him what he was planning to do next- re-enter the States, or go back to his aunts’ home in Chihuahua.  He wasn’t sure, but underscored that he definitely wanted to leave Agua Prieta as soon as he could.  I loaned him the phone now, and he called his girlfriend in El Paso.  She must not have gotten home from work right on time; the first two times we called, she wasn’t there.  After a few more minutes went by, Javier tried again, and she answered.  They spoke briefly, while I tried not to listen in, and respect their privacy.  When Javier was finished, he hung up, and seemed visibly reassured.  He thanked me, and turned to walk out.  “Dios está contigo,” I told him, as he walked out, and he thanked me once again.

Others I’ve spoken with in the MRC the past couple of days have had to hitch rides all along the Mexican border recently- from Monterrey to Matamoros to Naco and back to Agua Prieta- in order to get where they are now.  They are, in the most literal sense, sojourners- strangers in a place strange to them.  But we are, of course, fellow citizens of the world.  And as Christians, we believe that we are all beloved by God.  As we go forth, let’s work to make all with whom we share this earth feel a bit more beloved.  Let’s remember Javier.