If you are on social media at all, listen or pay attention to the news at all, you are aware of the “zero tolerance” policy in regard to immigrants and the family separations resulting from it. There is a swirl of outcry against it and an outcry in defense of it. There are so many things being said right now about and by so many people. There is so much happening, that it can feel overwhelming.

What has come to mind, many times in the last few days, are the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians–a letter written to the church in Corinth that, apparently, experienced a bit of conflict and division. In 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27, Paul says:

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

What we seem to have forgotten, is that we belong to one another. Beyond the Christ-specific message of this text, there is a concept that is universally true–whether we are an immigrant child, the head of one of the most powerful countries on earth, a minister, an educator, a construction worker, a father, a mother, an aunt, a Christian, a Buddhist, a Muslin, rich or poor, we belong to each other. Humanity’s success as a species is credited not to competition and the exclusion of the other, but to the ability to cooperate and work together.  That essential concept, cooperation, is so clearly, loudly and cruelly lost in what is happening at this moment in time.

So what can we do? Begin with limiting social media–be informed (by credible sources), and then disconnect. Decide to connect with others face to face. Spend some time volunteering and meeting people you may not encounter in your day to day life. Seek to become involved in movements like Make America Dinner Again which strive to have people of differing points of view sit down and converse in a civil and helpful way. If you are a Christian, and even if you are not, consider taking up the Spiritual practices of Lent–fasting, prayer, almsgiving. These practices of emptying ourselves of the things we enjoy in excess and walking in the shoes of another, help to connect us with the plight of those less fortunate than ourselves.

And if you are a Christian, and even if you are not, consider seriously leaning on this practice of prayer. Jesus often went off to “a deserting place” to pray because the work he did was hard. In your prayers, remember the persecuted and those who do the persecuting. This is perhaps one of the hardest things Jesus asks of us, to pray for those who would hurt us or others.

And if you are a Christian, and even if you are not, consider joining the body of Christ in its gathering. There are so many kudos and critiques circulation about the church, ministers, etc. and I wonder how many people putting that out there join in regularly in the gathered community of faith? A church is not a minister, or Scripture quoted by someone with political power. The church is a body and it needs your contribution, your presence, your prayers to help it be healthy and a vital voice and living force in the world today.

And finally:

• contact your elected officials to let them know your thoughts on the issue of immigration (or other matters).
• If you are looking for a way to pray daily, consider joining the Saguaro Christian Church prayer vigil being held daily at 10:00 a.m. PST via Facebook Live
• If you are looking for a place to donate, consider the Southwest Good Samaritan Ministires, a ministry in Los Fresnos, TX founded by Rev. Feliberto Pereira. The mission of Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries is

to teach the love of Jesus Christ by building a renewed sense of wholeness and dignity and by standing with those who are broken, especially among refugees and those who are disenfranchised and displaced.  The Good News of salvation is lived out by addressing spiritual and material needs, including emergency shelter and food, clothing, transportation, legal aid, advocacy and job referral through a cooperative effort with other agencies and religious organizations.

And today, pledge to show kindness to one another +