I would never have thought that there might be a discussion of the Bible on CNN, Fox, the CBC, or in every major newspaper in the United States and Canada. But there it was. The Attorney General of the United States, who is a member of the United Methodist Church, talked about the Apostle Paul in a speech he was giving defending the separation of children from their immigrant parents. It was not a sermon, but Paul, the early church theologians and church planter, was quoted and interpreted for the world to see.
I did not agree with Jeff Sessions , the Attorney General, but it was nice to hear the Apostle Paul mentioned in the public realm. So, Mr. Sessions quoted from Romans 13. Romans is a deeply theological book about the role of Jewish and Gentile ( I guess that is everybody in the world ) people in the Kingdom of God. Paul is trying to include everybody into the church, not what we understand to be church today, by saying that the work of Jesus of Nazareth is saving to the whole world.
But, what is Romans 13 all about. Sessions interpreted the passage to say that the government has been ordained by God, and the policy to separate children from their refugee parents is justified by such an interpretation. He said the following, “ … [we are] to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the laws of Government for his purposes.” Sessions makes a huge leap from the first century to today, to say that we must obey the government in all things.
The Roman Empire persecuted Christians at the beginning of the history of the church. Was that ordained by God ? The church was not the Empire at the beginning, but when one of the Caesars converted to Christianity, and then the church became part of the Empire.
The U.S. is the Empire. They are the leaders of the free world, and they have the biggest military in the world, so they are the Caesars of this world. So, I interpret Mr Sessions to be trying to be both the Empire and the church. This really mixes things up, so this is why you can use the Apostle Paul to justify separating migrant families. Unfortunately, we can use the Bible to justify our actions, if we believe that our actions to be true.
Romans is a complex book. The whole Bible is a complex book. Our lives are also very complex. As I say this, I cannot agree with the policy of separating families when they come into a country. This is so far from my understanding of the Christian faith . We are to take care of the least of these. We are to welcome the refugee, the orphan and widow, the most vulnerable parts of the population. Jesus is about love and compassion. This is my orientation to faith in God through Jesus and the Spirit.
Romans 13: 1,9 and 10, “ Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no other authority except that which God has established….. Love your neighbour as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. “
What do you say ? What do you think ? How do you interpret it ? Fred Redekop
Ponder Anew 