Preached at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Texts: Isaiah 9:1-4 and Matthew 4:12-23.

Yesterday morning’s news of another murder by federal agents in our city hit like a ton of bricks. Friday’s statewide, nationwide Day of Truth and Freedom had been such an uplifting experience of solidarity and shared commitment. Fifty-thousand people participated in nonviolent marches, sit-ins, and civil disobedience just here in the Twin Cities, recalling the nation to our values of justice and compassion. But then yesterday, a few violent ICE and Border Patrol officers revisited chaos when they shot and killed Alex Pretti after he was already restrained on the ground. It was a Star Wars reminder that after A New Hope, we see The Empire Strikes Back. These times feel hard and deadly, between the weather and our cruel government bullying and punching down on this embattled state. Our Twin Cities, bearing up under six weeks of a federal onslaught, now has to deal with another senseless murder by ICE. Yesterday was an exhausting scramble to find ways of channeling pain and anguish so our neighbors don’t succumb to violent intentions that cause more harm. How long must we put up with this bleakness? How long, O God?

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