UPDATED Below with the Parable of the Bondi
Good Friday is many things to many people of many religions. At its core, it is the crucifixion of Jesus and the attending chaos of the times and people around him. Suicide, denial, a call upon the lord as to why he has forsaken Jesus; many things were occurring in turbulent times. Much like some legal proceedings today, where the government obstructs the process with endless challenges to jurisdiction, there were jurisdictional questions over the sentencing of Jesus.
Pontius Pilate questioned the sentencing of Jesus to death. When he learned that Jesus was from Gailee, he sent the matter to King Herod who was in Jerusalem celebrating Passover. Jesus refused to answer questions from Herod, who sent him back to Pilate, who opined that neither he nor Herod had found Jesus guilty of anything.
Pilate had Jesus whipped and then sought to release him, but the crowd - call them the Make Rome Great Again crowd MARGA- and as MARGA and similar crowds are want to do with itinerant alien carpenters, they demanded he be crucified.
Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. He was mocked and jeered by Roman soldiers. And Jesus was adored, his body was taken by Joseph of Arimathea and wrapped and buried- only to be -as Christians believe- to rise again on Easter Sunday. As the Jews would say- "it was a whole mishegoss."
For Passover, Jews recite in their Seder that "We were strangers in the land of Egypt". For Good Friday through Easter Sunday, Jesus was forsaken, betrayed, ridiculed, and crucified for being different and for alluding that he may well be the messiah. When directly asked, Jesus responded mysteriously "You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the almighty."
One might think that within the lessons of Passover and Easter is the simple proposition that the downtrodden- be them the slaves of Egypt, or the bedraggled man who was so hated, feared and loved- should be treated with dignity and respect. That we are never so tall as when we bend down to help the lowest amongst us. That the principles of the United States are that we welcome strangers in a strange land and give them the chance for life, liberty, and happiness.
No more. The alien carpenter is deported- no papers and no work permit. Those fleeing oppression in Central America are turned away at the border- slaves fleeing oppression are not welcome in this land of freedom. And in a final insult, the government now seeks to repudiate the 14 Amendment's grant of citizenship for those born here.
We turn our back on the poor, the oppressed, the small and weak seeking democracy and freedom. We mock aliens and immigrants like Roman soldiers who jeered Jesus. We sell out our neighbors to ICE like Judas for a few coins of silver. Our mobs chant for the deportation of those not like us, cheer their mistreatment and even their death- better dead then receiving the charity of our country. Given the choice, we have no doubt the MAGA crowd would support the crucifixion of their enemies. They already cheer the figurative crucifixions of those who are different. No more health funding for sick children; no more funding to prevent Aids in Africa. No more funding for educational institutions that do not teach the ideas of jingoism. The revocation of access to courts for lawyers who oppose them. Enemies perceived are mocked, fired, attacked, cursed, and all but literally stoned. The power of the government is turned on those who are different.
Do you have any doubt how Jesus would have treated a trans-teenager? And do you have any doubt how our government is treating trans-people?
All of this hate and violence and vitriol in the name of making this country great again?
And we thought the MAGA crowd believed this was a Christian nation. Only in the sense that that are doing to immigrants and MAGA enemies what Pilate, Herrod and the Romans did to Jesus.
Today it is a crime to help an immigrant.
Luke 10: 25-37
A man who was an expert in the law asked Jesus: “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan came where the man was; and when he saw him he bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ‘Look after him,’ he said to the innkeeper, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” Jesus asked.
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Happy Easter.
THE PARABLE OF THE BONDI
And it came to pass that Bondi the legal expert asked Donald of Mar Galilee Lago "How can I recognize an American?"
Donald of Mar Galilee replied "A man was walking his daughter to kindergarten when they were beset upon by a mob who beat the man for being an alien."
"The mob were Americans" said the Bondi. "Yes", replied Donald of Mar Galilee.
"The mob made the little girl tear up her schoolbooks. Then a lawyer from the ACLU happened by and sheltered the man and his daughter and brought them to her school."
"The lawyer was not an American" said the Bondi. "Right again" said Donald of Mar Gailee.
"The teacher opened the door to give shelter to the little girl and her father, but the principal came and barred the girl from her school for being the child of an alien".
"The teacher is not an American" said the Bondi. "But the principal is".
"Correct again" said Donald of Mar Galilee.
"The man picked up his little girl who was crying to protect her from the mob who screamed at them and spit on them for being from a foreign country" said Donald of Mar Galilee.
"The mob was making America great again" said the Bondi.
"Go and do likewise and use all the powers of the lawyers at your command to do the same to the thousands of parents and children in this country who are not from here" said Donald of Galilee.
The Parable of the Bondi.
Proud to be an American these days are we?
9 comments:
Well written and all too true. Have mercy on us all.
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS
VERY SAD NEWS …..
John de León, a civil rights crusader and former Miami-Dade assistant public defender who rose to the top of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and who once protested outside the New York Times over the media’s use of the term “Illegal immigrant,” died last week after a lengthy battle with a debilitating illness. De León, who co-founded the Miami law office of Chavez & de León with the son of legendary labor rights activist Cesar Chavez, was recognized for his passionate work for immigrant rights and social justice. Even as a child, he had an affinity for wayward animals and those targeted by bullies, his sister said.
Great post. I'm a Christian (Catholic) and I have "Matthew 25:31-46" tattooed on my right forearm to remind me what its all about.
Why is there no term limits for State Attorney’s? I really have nothing against Kathy but she just has no control of the office. She doesn’t try cases. She has no clue what goes on day to day. She’s just a political face at this point.
Again, very well done, Rumpole.
Jesus was a Jew who confronted the scribes and Pharisees, and money changers in the Temple. He was executed due to what is now called prosecutorial misconduct resulting in a lynching death by crucifixion. Yes, Jews say the resurrection of Christ is mishegoss. Sigmund Freud, also a Jew, says monotheism is mishegoss, see this discussion of Freud's Moses and Monotheism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVeN2IuKgos&t=1s
Those fleeing oppression in Central America should return home and start a revolution, like our Patriots did to oust our British oppressors in the American Revolution.
You misinterpret the 14 Amendment's grant of citizenship for those born here, see United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), a U.S. Supreme Court petition for writ of habeas corpus issued October 2, 1895 recognizing birthright citizenship of Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to parents who were Chinese nationals legally present in the United States: Father, Wong Si Ping, and mother, Lee Wee, emigrated from Taishan, Guangdong, China and were not United States citizens, but they were legally in the United States. Contrast this case with your contention that people who are not legally in the United States can enter the USA illegally, give birth on American soil, then claim "birthright citizenship". As a lawyer you should know better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Wong_Kim_Ark
"Do you have any doubt how Jesus would have treated a trans-teenager?" With kindness, no doubt. However I doubt Jesus would force that lifestyle on everyone else, which is what a tiny but loud minority of the trans community has done, and been rightly smacked down.
The Statue of Liberty proclaims in part, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
As U.S. birthrates fall, America needs immigrants to fill the gap. American depends on migrant workers to harvest the fruits and vegetables we eat, and do the hard physical labor that many Americans don’t want to do anymore, but work that immigrants do everyday. Like working in slaughterhouses and meat packing plants.
Immigrants are the engine of economic and social growth. Immigrants buy homes, buy clothing, furnishings and appliances for their new homes, they buy vehicles, and start businesses, and buy computers and other office equipment. But most important, Immigrants bring their idea of what America is supposed to be, the land of opportunity, and the home of the free.
If you voted Republican or Democrat on November 5, 2024, you got what Rumpole is now complaining about. Next time, vote for the No Party Affiliation (NPA) candidate.
Attorney Michael Tarre has passed away. He once walked the halls of the Gerstein Justice Building on a regular basis and was a well respected criminal defense attorney. Back in the 1980s, he defended sitting Judge Howard Gross and defense attorney Harvey Swickle against corruption charges. Both were acquitted. Judge Gross returned to the bench in Civil until he resigned and went into private practice. Swickle never practiced law again. Tarre had a long and esteemed career. May he rest in peace.
And a red glassy eyed one at that
What you mean by that?
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