Jesus Should Have Been Central To His Religion

Jesus said "But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless" (Matthew 12:7). He also criticized the religious leaders of his time “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone" (Matthew 23:23). Jesus was the incarnation of love, so he was concerned that religious leaders had allowed his religion to become nothing more than an empty ritual. What was central to the being of Jesus, should have been central to his religion; compassion, mercy, kindness, and love. Worshiping God had to be

I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’ The King will answer them. ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.' Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me" (Matthew

Her fists were balled up in frustration, pounding on a play mat in the shelter run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. No parent was there to scoop her up, no known and trusted adult to rub her back and soothe her sobs. The staff members at the center tried their best while watching this child writhe on the floor, alone. We knew what was wrong, but we were powerless to help. She wanted her mother. And the only reason she could not be with her mother was because immigration authorities had forcibly separated them when they crossed the border into the United States. The mother was detained, and they handed the little girl over to the shelter as an "unaccompanied" child. Since October, the federal government has separated over 700 children from their parents. The White House has supported family separation as a deterrent to keep migrant families from the U.S. border. Sometimes, they have deported the parents, leaving a child behind in government