The tragic irony cannot be overstated here:

Christians all over the United States begin to observe Holy Week this week, where we will again turn our attention to the betrayal, false accusations, unjust arrest, and mistreatment against Jesus at the hands of religion that had aligned itself with the empire.

Yet far too much of the church in the United States has been in vocal support or has simply been silent in the face of practices that unjustly discriminate, dehumanize, arrest, deny due process, and imprison our immigrant brothers and sisters.

Voices that have cheered in support of families being ripped apart and people losing everything simply by the mere suspicion of ties to criminal activity will turn and suddenly be tearful as they hear about Jesus being treated with the same unjust hostility, convincing themselves that they would never be like Judas who betrayed him or like Peter who denied him. Convincing themselves that they would speak up for Jesus being mistreated and not receiving a fair trial.

How can we be so convicted by Jesus’ false arrest and imprisonment yet have the opposite reaction when it is happening to our neighbors today? By loving power more than we love God and our neighbors.

By refusing to see all the ways Christianity is the religion that has aligned itself with the empire today.

By refusing to see Jesus in the eyes of our neighbors.

Matthew 25:31-46 tells us that when Jesus returns, he isn’t going to judge people based on their patriotism or over the particulars of their theological beliefs.

Jesus will judge them based on their compassion towards the “least among us,” which includes the stranger.

Jesus says, “I was a stranger, yet you did not welcome me.” Then “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

The clearest way to see how you would have responded to Jesus’ betrayal and arrest is to look at how you are responding to the ways that it is happening to your neighbors right now.