Loading...Sermon January 29, 2017
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen, Newport, PA
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:6-8
Please be seated.
My name is Regina Blumenstein. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz.
My name is Evelyn Greve. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered in Italy.
My name is Martin Wiesenfelder. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz.
We are the Koppel family. The US turned us away at the border in 1939. We were murdered at Auschwitz.
In 1939, when the whole world knew that the Jewish people were in trouble if they stayed in Germany, over 900 people boarded the MS St. Louis in Hamburg Germany. The ship was to stop in Cuba where the passengers believed they could stay until their Visas to enter the United States were issued. However, unbeknownst to them, there was anti-refugee and anti-semitic fervor in Cuba and the rules for staying in Cuba had changed. Only a few passengers had the proper documentation to stay in Cuba.
Negotiations between the United States and Cuban authorities to allow the passengers to enter either country failed. Four countries agreed to take the passengers – Great Britain, France, The Netherlands and Belgium. However, over 500 passengers ended up in countries that were eventually controlled by Germany and over 250 of them were murdered as a result.
Friday was Holocaust Remembrance Day. Software Engineer Russel Neiss and Rabbi Charlie Schwartz created a Twitter page and feed @Stl_Manifest to remember these passengers who were turned away at the border and later murdered.
And on Friday, at 4:42pm – please notice the timing - our President, Mr. Trump, issued an Executive Order turning away all refugees at the border for at least 120 days, barring all refugees fleeing the war and violence in Syria indefinitely and blocking all entry into the United States for 90 days from seven predominantly Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Late Friday afternoon, people from those countries on planes to the United States, landed and were immediately detained. I received this Facebook post from a friend in the DC área:
“Near tears. A friend-of-a-friend contacted Ray, having heard about his work with refugee support. The friend's uncle & family had just been detained at the Philadelphia airport -- after 3 YEARS of vetting & finally obtaining immigration visas, they were stopped. By the time Ray got back to them with a few leads for help, the family had been put on a plane back to Syria. I can't imagine...”
Students with proper visas studying in the United States cannot return, having been prevented from even boarding planes. People with green cards who are working legally in the United States are being denied entry. Lives are upended. And for what?
Then we hear these verses today…these summary verses, if you will, about living our lives in ways that truly glorify God. In the time of Micah, probably 600-700 years before Christ, the people believed that a sacrificial system of offerings was the best way to honor God. Offer oil. Offer a sacrifice of animals. Offer the first born of everything as God gets the first fruits. This also meant sacrificing the first born son –yes, child sacrifice was part of this culture!
Micah explains that none of these sacrifices truly honor God. That what honors God or shows we are a Godly people is to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God.
Yes, our gathering on Sunday is great and it’s good to see people. It’s great to sing hymns, to praise God, to pray together, and to come to the altar and receive the Eucharistic meal where we know Jesus Christ is present with us.
And if we go out of this place and let injustice reign, our worship is hollow and dare I say cruel.
So today I ask, how will you do justice when you walk out of these doors this morning? How will we do justice together?
My name is Regina Blumenstein. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz.
My name is Evelyn Greve. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered in Italy.
My name is Martin Wiesenfelder. The US turned me away at the border in 1939. I was murdered at Auschwitz.
We are the Koppel family. The US turned us away at the border in 1939. We were murdered at Auschwitz.
Amen
