The Body, The Blood, The Border

“[T]he Eucharist does not simply tell the story of a united human race, but brings to light barriers where they actually exist.”
- W. T. Cavanaugh, “World in a Wafer”, Modern Theology
(download article here)

Yesterday, we gathered with many others at Friendship Park to celebrate communion with sisters and brothers from both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. It was a somber celebration of the Lord’s Table. Rev. John Fanestil–who has led the communion celebrations at the border for the last few months–wrote a great article that summarizes our reasons for taking this action. It was the cover article of this month’s issue of The Christian Century and can be read here.

As John finished his introduction, he explained to those gathered that we, the organizers, had been warned that to pass anything through the border that did not go through customs was illegal. If we chose to take communion from those serving from the other side of the fence, it would be an act of civil disobedience. The risk was little to none. Armed Border Patrol agents have stood around and watched us do this for weeks. But at the same time, they did threaten to arrest a man whose kite had flown over the border only a couple of weeks ago.

John asked Dr. Jamie Gates and myself to help serve the elements. I walked up to the monument that stands directly on the border line, corn tortillas in hand, ready to serve people from both sides of the border. To my surprise, almost every one that came forward pressed their hands to the rusty fence to receive the Body of Christ. My only task was to translate, “This is Christ’s body, broken for you.” to those that received communion. I’ve never been more happy to not serve communion.

In his “World in a Wafer” article, William T. Cavanaugh writes “[T]he Eucharist does not simply tell the story of a united human race, but brings to light barriers where they actually exist.” This statement was such a reality yesterday. While we were brought together as one Body, the boundaries–both physical and social–that divide us were exposed for what they are. Our friend, Sunil Sardar, founder of Truth Seekers Int., has a similar mindset in how he has chosen to lead people in communion in India. Rather than the cup and bread, they celebrate communion with people of all castes using a traditional Hindu celebration element, the coconut and it’s milk. Through this they challenge and expose the assumptions of who has access to the Table and who doesn’t.

Back to San Diego, concern of this issue heightened for us during last year’s firestorm that ravaged San Diego county. For more information on that you can read the report, Firestorm: Treatment of Vulnerable Populations During the San Diego Fires, which was published by a handful of local organizations. It can be downloaded off of the Justice Overcoming Boundaries (JOB) website (look under “Publications”).

What became evident through that season is that the varied reasons of opposition to immigration to the U.S. from Latin America, while under the guise of policy and economics, are more often than not rooted in racism.

Is this strictly the hypothesis of a “liberal”? No. This is my experience. I’ve lived most of my life in San Diego county, something few people that live here can say. I was raised in a loving, conservative Christian home. We were taught that racism was wrong. That to hate was to sin. But at the same time we were taught that racial slurs such as “wetback” and “beaner” were acceptable. This duplicity created a disconnect in my mind. Eventually it seemed perfectly acceptable to perceive of Hispanic people differently than others. During my late elementary school years, I lived in the rural part of northern San Diego county. Many migrant workers lived throughout the hills close to the orchards that provided them income. One summer, I found one of these migrant worker camps during the day while the men were out working and destroyed everything I could. I gloated to family and friends of my actions. My tale was returned with laughter.

I tell this story to expose the blindness of our racism. My shameful behavior is alarming but not uncommon. Later in life as a youth leader at various churches, I heard many such stories treated by parents and others as simply, “kids being kids.” Condemning racism while still willing to refer to and act towards a particular group in a degrading way exposes how blind we actually are.

Assumptions are commonly made of people with Spanish surnames or brown skin. What isn’t often acknowledged is that people throughout Latin America come to the U.S., still Hispanic peoples are universally called, “Mexican” by many. Frequently, there is a “guilty until proven innocent” assumption made of the immigration status for those of Latin American decent–many just assume a Latino/a crossed without documentation. And there is the “illegal alien” term which degrades someone’s humanity based on their legal/illegal behavior (Have you ever heard of someone guilty of tax evasion called, “illegal”? No, because it is their actions that are illegal, not their existence.).

Together, these ignorant and improper labels tend to de-humanize Latinos–whether consciously or subconsciously–in the minds of others. As a result, hate crimes against Latinos eventually begin to be perceived as acceptable. This kind of cruelty is not restricted to Minutemen or other like-minded citizens. Through the ICE raids that happen throughout Southern California, government officials echo the same kind of disregard for humane treatment. Should neglect of the well-being of families, especially children, becomes acceptable when someone’s documentation is suspect?

This over-arching posture must be called for what it is. It is racism. I am not a policy maker, nor do I have hopes to be one. I am not a theologian, but that does not make my understanding of my experience any less valid. I can see how inhumane our current system is and how necessary it is to see change happen. As a follower of Jesus who seeks to participate in the Kingdom he announced, I feel that I must allow that conviction to enter into areas of life that may be uncomfortable. Those that were dehumanized in his culture, Jesus treated with dignity, humanity. His acts of love challenged a theo-political system that disregarded them.

Our actions yesterday were important because of the statement it made. Our actions, even though small, exposed the shameful posture of policy makers and citizens towards our Latin American sisters and brothers. As well, our actions proclaimed our alignment with an authority that moves in, through and beyond the nation state, the Kingdom of God. We chose to act as Jesus would have us rather than the state.

Our inability to recognize our biblical call to a particular social posture towards the alien, the immigrant and the ostracized is to expose our complicity with temporal powers, of putting the authority of the nation state above that of the call of Christ. We in short confirm the words of The Thermals‘ song, “An Ear for Baby” from the album, The Body, The Blood, The Machine, that lashes out against a Christianity that has sold it’s soul to political and economic benefit:

good luck getting over the fence
good luck putting even a dent in
the mission, the dream!
the body, the blood, the machine

If you are interested in learning more about this issue, I would encourage you to join us on Saturday, October 25 from 9:00 a.m. to noon at Friendship Park to discuss the role of Christians in San Diego at the border. Contact us for more details.

Other Resources:
• For more theological and political reflection on this issue, check out Subversive’s recent issue (myspace.com/subversivemag)
• Our housemate, Brooke Gonzales provided a summary of yesterday’s events here
• Friend of the Collective, Geoff Hsu posted photos here
• I have started blogging through the book Christians at the Border here and here
• Facts about Immigration at the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium website
• Countering Myths at the Justice for Immigrants website
• Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform resources at Sojourners website
• Immigration in the U.S. Through the Lens of Faith handbook at the New Sanctuary Movement website

Jason Evans is a co-founder of the Ecclesia Collective and a member of the Hawthorn House. He is married to