The Hardened Heart & the Ugly Wall

Now before faith came,
we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 
Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came,
so that we might be justified by faith. 
 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 
 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 
 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  
 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 
 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,
 heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:23-29

During Donald Trump's campaign for the presidency of the United States he promised his adoring supporters that he was going to build a "great big beautiful wall" along the border to keep out migrants from Mexico and Central America. Not only did he promise this, he claimed that the Mexicans were going to pay for it.

Well, the Mexicans aren't paying for it --surprise, surprise-- and this may be yet another broken Donald promise because he's getting no traction from American legislators to pay the five billion dollar bill for construction.

This reluctance may sound like welcome news but the "build a wall" mentality has seeped into American sensibilities in a profound way. Hearts have been hardened to the extent that millions, including many Christians (?) have accepted that taking young children from the parents of migrants and incarcerating thousands of refugee teens in a facility designed for a few hundred is acceptable.

Border Guard pours out water left for migrants

Then there is the tragic death of a Guatemalan girl, seven-year-old Jakelin Caal. Jakelin died in the custody of Border Patrol and while the government insists she arrived ill the family disputes this. Apparently she died of dehydration and brain swelling. The official response and those of many conservative commentators is to say that this may be the consequence for embarking on such a dangerous journey. There is next to no compassion and certainly no recognition that there are international laws protecting the rights of migrants and refugees.

In this season of the Refugee Christ Child we can pray not only for the failure of the physical wall but the dismantling of the ugly walls of fear, suspicion, and hardness of heart. I'm convinced that this is what Christ desires of all of us.

Check out my Groundling blog for an environmental perspective on the "ugly wall."
https://groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-border-wall-all-gods-creatures.html