In a controversial sermon, Rev. Jacob Tipantasig-Wolverton, Senior Pastor of Community United Methodist Church in Naperville, used the story of Easter to complain about Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, who was recently deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
For context, Trump has repeatedly promised to deport vast numbers of illegal immigrants from America. Since taking office this year, the president has worked alongside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan to keep America safe from foreign criminals.
In any case, Rev. Jacob Tipantasig-Wolverton began his remarks with a strained biblical analogy. He said, “My friends, we, too, live in a world of tombs, tombs built by fear, tombs locked by nationalism, tombs guarded by policies that tear apart families and criminalize human beings.”
Continuing his far-left rant, the pastor parroted woke talking points on immigration. He said, “I believe that we as Easter people, if we do not stand and speak, we are complicit. Let us name plainly one of these tombs, the illegal deportation of immigrants, not the legal, but the illegal. We have a rule of law, not just deportation in general, but deportation that happens without due process, deportation fueled by racial profiling, by political scapegoating, by unjust laws and heartless enforcement, families torn apart at 2 am in the morning, mothers put on planes without their children.”
Still not done, he complained, “Children sent back to countries they don’t remember, where violence and poverty await them, and we, as followers of the risen Christ, must ask, what is our response to this tomb Christ, the refugee our scriptural lens, let us remember who Jesus is in Matthew’s Gospel, this very gospel, we meet Jesus as a child on the run his family flees to Egypt to escape Herod’s deadly violence. Jesus was undocumented.”
Building out his woke argument, Wolverton repeated the tired lie that Jesus was an illegal immigrant. He said, “Let me just say that again and let that sink in for just a moment, the very person we are celebrating today, the very one who would escape Herod’s deadly violence. Jesus was undocumented. Let me just say that again and let that sink in for just a moment, the very person we’re celebrating today, the very one in whom we worship, was undocumented. Jesus was a refugee. Jesus knew what it was to flee in fear and to live as a stranger in a strange land.”
Using even more dramatic language, he said, “Jesus was that person, if Jesus came today in flesh and blood, would we even let him in? Would we let him cross our borders? Would we let him into our synagogues and sanctuaries, or would he be met with a wall, a cage, or a flight out of the country to El Salvador? United Methodists believe in the sacred worth of every person. United Methodists believe in the sacred worth of every person, every person, every person.”
Watch his speech here:
Concluding his far left screed, the pastor asked, “So what is it that we stand for? We must boldly proclaim these principles. We oppose immigration policies that separate family members or that include the detention of families with children. We believe immigration is not a just system, and it is not just a political issue. It is a gospel issue when we deport unjustly, we crucify Christ again and the bodies of his people.”
Featured image from embedded video