By Father Casey
I should have seen it coming. I should have recognized the writing on the wall when a plea for mercy by a bishop of the Church was met with contempt by those in power. I should have known where we were going when gospel teachings like the Beatitudes have become a source of embarrassment for many of our Christian siblings. I should have recognized the way compassion is now viewed with suspicion, and anything that helps others without immediate benefit to ourselves is derided.
But somehow, I wasn’t ready this week for the news that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) would be targeted for elimination. Founded in the 1960s and supported for six decades by administrations of both parties, USAID is our nation’s primary force for humanitarian assistance in the world. It provides aid to countries recovering from disasters, undergirds massive health initiatives like combatting AIDS, polio, and tuberculosis, develops public works for sanitation and clean water, and seeks to alleviate the human suffering caused by war.
USAID is an extension of the philosophy of the Marshall Plan after World War II, in which our country recognized that helping suffering people in other countries is not just charity but responsibility. Everyone is safer, healthier, and more stable when the richest and most powerful country in the world chooses to help those most desperately in need. USAID is also founded on the principle that no one should suffer from illnesses we know how to cure, or problems we know how to fix, regardless of where they live. Of course we can’t do everything, everywhere, for everyone, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to do anything, anywhere, for anyone. After all, what good is all our power and wealth if it is not used to make the world better?
Meanwhile, this coming week Episcopal Migration Ministries will be shuttered due to the elimination of federal grant funding. Founded in 1988, EMM leads the work of refugee resettlement for The Episcopal Church, and over its history has supported the resettlement of more than 100,000 individuals to communities across the United States. It is the core of our church’s answer to the Biblical mandate to care for strangers and provide compassion to those in danger. More locally, our outreach partner Gateway of Grace, which serves refugees right here in the metroplex, is also struggling to survive in these rapidly changing times.
It is not the job of the Church to weigh in on every policy matter, but it is the job of the Church to speak on behalf of the vulnerable.
It is not the job of the Church to instruct the government on what to do, but it is the job of the Church to call us to be good.
It is not the job of the Church to demand our leaders do what we say, but it is the job of the Church to point our leaders toward the virtues of charity, kindness, and humility.
This isn’t about party or politics. This is about basic human decency and the common good. It’s about seeing all our fellow human beings as neighbors who deserve our care and respect. It’s about fulfilling the requirements of the Law that our state legislature insists be displayed in every classroom. And for us who read our gospels and seek to follow Jesus, it’s about living on the side of his kingdom, where the hungry are always fed, the strangers are always welcomed, the sick are always healed, and the suffering are always consoled.
Fr. Casey