God Between the Bars

Several Weeks ago, I accepted the invitation to lead worship for Border Church. For years, Border Church met in Friendship Park, across from Plaza de Toros in Tijuana, Mexico. It was a weekly way for families to gather and share the Good News of faith and a witness of hope, even if separated by a fence. During the first Trump administration, Friendship Park was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to reopen.

Border Church found a new place to provide a witness. It moved to the Whiskey 8 crossing gate, which is a few miles to the East. Once used as a place for asylum seekers to press their claims, the American Friends Service Committee set up some shade tents to keep and distribute basic supplies of food, water, and first aid to pass through the wall. Today, the other side of The Wall is empty and a bit desolate. By human standards, it is nearly abandoned, but God is still there.

The worship is a simple yet loud testament to God's love for all creation. The time begins with a phone connection to the worshipers on the Tijuana side, who still gather at the traditional location at Plaza de Toros. After confession, forgiveness, and a brief message, and passing of the "pinky peace," a custom reminiscent of when "The Peace" could be passed by linking pinky fingers through the fence, the Lord's supper is shared. 

A few observations of my time included how eerie it was. Being that close to The Wall with no one on the other side, along with the massive sliding gate, felt like I was leading worship at the gates of Mordor. For me, it begged the question "which side of Mordor's gate am I on?" I don't yet have a great answer, but the fact that somebody could argue that I might actually be on the inside is frightening enough.

The other convicting moment for me came as we recited the Lord's Prayer. When, in that prayer, we ask for our trespasses to be forgiven, we also pray to forgive those who trespass against us. I was struck by the fact that I've never recited that prayer at a place of actual trespass. Literally, The Wall exists to keep out trespassers. Some do trespass, of course, but clearly, we are not forgiving them. I'm not prepared to do much here with that thought, only to share that I am awed by the pertinence of that phrase in a 2000-year-old prayer.