Written by:
Sister Mary Ellen Lacy, DC
May 30, 2013
Our arrival in
DC was delayed by traffic and Capitol Hill security measures. We had to walk
the last four blocks to our meeting place, the United Methodist Building, because
we could not clear U.S. Capitol “Border Patrol” in time for our program's start
time.
Sr. Simone
joined the podium with Rev. Michael Livingston, IWJ, the SEIU President Mary
Kay Henry, Jos Williams, president of AFL-CIO Washington DC
Metro, Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME, and Frank Sharry, Founder and Executive
Director, America’s Voice Council.
Jos Williams spoke
of his recent path to citizenship and pledged the support of 180,000
workers. He vowed that they will do anything to facilitate the
movement. He shared his pain and wounds along his path to citizenship,
his salvation.
His suffering
motivated him to bare his pain, serve other pilgrims, and welcome
them to a new world. You see, he bore battle scars that
would never let him or those who love him, to forget.
Jesus also
resurrected with His wounds. I have often wondered why His wounds remained
after He resurrected. After all, He was God and He could have returned
perfectly intact.
Instead, like
Jos, Jesus retained His wounds that others could see and
touch His unjustly inflicted battle scars. Jesus's wounds should
remind us what fear and love can do. We must not let fear crucify others'
dreams.
