“Shut Down the Crises” by The Rev. Kaji Douša

Just a few days ago I returned from our southern border in San Diego and Tijuana. Just a few days ago, a leader of this country talked about a crisis at the border. And there’s debate about whether or not there’s a crisis there. What I will tell you, is that there ss a crisis where people fleeing humanitarian dangers, have come to seek asylum legally, and we will not allow them to be heard – that’s a crisis. There’s a growing crisis where federal government employees who have decided to serve their country – veterans who served their country – are not being paid. That’s a crisis. There’s a crisis when the money that’s supposed to be rebuilding Puerto Rico, gets redirected to building a wall that will not, never has, proven to be effective at stopping drug cartels from flying drones and digging holes and tunnels under a wall. That’s a crisis. We need to shut down the crises, but the crisis is our apathy in allowing ourselves to think that all this is normal. Christians, people of faith, are required to care for the poor first, to look to the vulnerable spaces first. And when we don’t see our place in this, then we face a crisis of the spirit. So, I call on all of us, to think of this shut down, as our way of shutting down the crises that we actually have, the power, the control, and the money to resolve. Thank you.