Chief Seattle (Si'ahl) said, "One thing we know, which the White Man may one day discover - our God is the same God. You may think that you own Him as you wish to own our land; but you cannot. He is the God of humanity, and His compassion is equal for the red man and the white. The earth is precious to Him, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its Creator. Even the white man cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We shall see."
-as translated by Dr. Henry A Smith, 1854
How much have we fallen to the idolatry of creating God in our own image when we cannot imagine God's love and justice being relevant to the minority, un-empowered, alien among us? We the franchised "faithful", in hopes of protecting our "entitled" interests, appeal to God as if we were a fortune 500 corporation lobbying government. With scriptures full of appeals for the people of God/followers of Jesus to give deference to the stranger, the poor and the outcast, is it anything less than sinful idolatry to be so self-convinced of our life and conduct? Let the privileged comfortable not assume that our values systems, norms and cultural expressions be the acceptable norm, while "others" remain on the fringes of God's family.
The evils of American Manifest Destiny will continue to be promoted by evangelical Christians as long as they believe themselves more justified in their membership in the National Rifle Association than advocating for a compassionate immigration policy.
Thank you, Lord, that you do not claim to be God over just some people. You are, in fact, the creator and redeemer of all creatures. Help us spread the good news that no one can claim ownership of you, because each of us belongs to you. Amen.
-prayer adapted from Common Prayer: a Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, (Grand Rapids:Zondervan, 2010), p.117
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