2020.01.05 | Nuestra Comunidad Cuenta / Our Community Counts
Muy buenos días mis Compañeras y Compañeros. Very good morning to you all. I wish you much peace on this Eve of Epiphany. Les deseo mucha paz durante este temporada navideña. Before we start, I’m going to tell you three things: 1) Today’s sermon will be about the upcoming census. There’s QR Code in the bulletin by the sermon title and if you hover your phone’s camera over it, it will take you to more info about our census; 2) In my sermon you will hear spanish today. In the off chance that this makes you uncomfortable, that’s ok. I invite you to sit with that and empathetically imagine people who daily experience being lost in translation; and 3) I apologize in advance for the copious Star Wars references in this sermon. For all you attentive wookies out there, this one’s for you.
Pray with me. Oremos. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” “Sean gratas las palabras de mi boca y la meditación de mi corazón delante de Ti, Oh Señor, roca mía y Redentor mío.”
We’ve just heard in our reading of a family being tossed and turned at the whims of empire. Joseph and Mary had to travel about 90 miles from Nazareth in the north of Judea in Galilee to Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. And we complain when we have to go to the DMV, or at least I know I do. The journey must have taken some time, for while they were there Mary gave birth to Jesus. Shortly thereafter the Wise Kings arrived from the East to honor the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, and if you were one of the lucky thousands to have witnessed either our youth Christmas Pageant, Camel Tales or our Mexican Pastorela you saw this holy encounter dramatized. Well, as can be imagined King Herod didn’t take too kindly to the thought of competition, and so sought to outright execute baby Jesus. What happens next is often referred to as “the flight to Egypt.”
Now, there was no flight as how we think of the word “flight” today. No planes to quickly board and escape on. Due to the irate and mentally unstable ruler consumed with power and malice, Herod- so the story goes- practically instituted a ban on babies. Borders were boarded, bodies broken. No, Joseph and Mary did not have the luxury that many of us have, of wading through TSA and then boarding a quick flight. They had to travel another some 60 miles, fraught with dangers into desert Egyptian territory to escape. Their travels were equivalent to trekking from Tijuana to L.A. To be sure, had Herod had the technology, he would have bombed Egypt. Thankfully, there were no nuclear codes in existence for this deranged madman.
En nuestra lectura de hoy, José y María tuvieron que viajar unos 150 km para llegar al Belén para el censo. Y si tuvieron el privilegio de ver la pastorela aquí hace dos semanas, vieron la actuación de la llegada de los reyes magos, proclamando el niño Jesús el Rey de Reyes, el Príncipe de Paz. Bueno, como se puede imaginar, al rey Herodes no le gustó mucho la idea de tener competencia, y por eso intentó asesinar inmediatamente al niño Jesús. Entonces María y José huyeron al desierto de Egipto. Viajaron una distancia más o menos igual a viajar desde Tijuana a Los Ángeles- pero sin coche.
Now why did Mary and Joseph make the journey to Bethlehem in the first place? As the story goes, they were returning to take the census, and Herod was ruler of the land. While ancient historians contest exact dates, all agree that a census happened and that our antagonist, Herod was one bad hombre. Herod was the largest real estate developer in the region. Many of his building projects can be visited even today. He was also easily the most polarizing political figure of his day; on the one hand he had many successes economically as well as in his building endeavours; however, this was at the expense of an authoritarian and tyrannical rule, from which a small aristocracy enjoyed most benefits. Josephus tells us that Herod actually died of “Herod’s Evils”. From accounts it can be deduced that he suffered from severe mental health issues and was an extreme narcissist- one that would not stop at separating families and murdering babies, even his own children, for his personal gain and his endeavour to Make Judea Great Again. Josephus tells us that Herod was so concerned that no one would mourn his death, that he commanded a group of men be killed at the time of his death so that languishing would be certain. Herod was nothing short of diabolical.
As the story is recounted, it is under this Hellish Herod that Joseph and Mary journey to be counted. While Mary prayed for God to topple the proud, to make empty the rich, she made sure she was counted. She hid not in the shadows. She stood up. She exclaimed, “Here I am!” to the very empire that would seek to snuff out the light of her child. How could this be? Being counted in the small village of Bethlehem was an act of courageous joining together of people power, a refusal to be relegated to the sidelines of history, however minute Bethlehem was. Bethlehem was unincorporated Judean county. It was a bold act of saying “we are here and we demand dignity.”
Pues, José y María fueron a Belén para tomar el censo durante el reino de Herodes. Aparte de ser rey, Herodes fue el desarrollador inmobiliario más grande de la región. Construyó unos edificios enormes, no eran rascacielos, pero algunos se pueden ver incluso el día de hoy. Algunos lo amaban por sus éxitos con la bolsa de mercado, pero la mayoría del pueblo lo odiaba por su gobierno tiránico. Sufría de inestabilidad mental, era un narcisista, y no dudaba en asesinar, me suena a alguien conocido eh. . . Pues, María fue a ser contada bajo del reino de este loco. Mientras María rezaba para que Dios derribará a los soberbios, para vaciar a los ricos, se aseguró de ser contada. Ella no se escondió en las sombras. Ella se levantó. Ella exclamó: "¡Aquí estoy!" al imperio mismo que trataría de matar a su hijo. Ser contado en el censo en el pequeño pueblo de Belén fue un acto de valor de exigir la dignidad.
We all remember the citizenship question debacle that the current administration introduced this past year. It was a sly attempt to inject fear into the hearts of some 12 million within our communities, so that they decline to answer the census, diminishing the resources received by areas with higher concentration of under-documented folks. Fear is a favored tactic wielded by the current administration. From the inception of their campaign, fear of the other and hate-mongering have been their foundation. As known for saying, Yoda is: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
The U.S. Census has taken place every 10 years since 1790. I know this because Lin-Manuel Miranda told me so. And since 1790, there has been need to counter the erasure of non-whites in the census. The One Drop Rule and Blood Quantum laws kept many African Americans and Native Americans from citizenship, from being counted, and from receiving due resources. At the center of inequity is the erasure of the other, if we don’t see them or know that they are here we eschew responsibility of neighbor. In 1990, the Native American population was undercounted by more than 12%; Latinos were undercounted by 5%.
“Why is undercounting an issue of importance?” you might be wondering. Well, census count totals determine:
Representation in Congress (undercounting means losing congressional seats)
Redistricting; i.e., when congressional boundaries are redrawn to take into account population shifts
The distribution of more $675 Billion in federal funds is determined by census counts
Of which, California receives $76 billion, based upon the state’s population as determined by the decennial census
Programs funded by this are: Medi-cal, SNAP, Medicare, Section-8 Housing, Highways, school lunches, Head Start, Special Ed, and WIC, among others
Additional pertinent information for us is that:
This year is the first digital census using-you guessed it-a QR code.
There are 220 languages spoken throughout CA, but the Census questionnaire will only be available in 13 languages.
Our Compañeras Ministry programs, La Comida para Cherryland and English Learners serves or has served English, Spanish, Tagalog, Mam, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Koren, Pashto, Farsi, Arabic and Italian speakers. (11 languages)
Each person not counted equates to a loss of roughly $2,000 in funding per yr; or nearly $20,000 per each person not counted.
Alameda County receives about 60% of its revenue from Federal & State resources
And Alameda County has 413,000 “Hard-to-Count” residents; i.e., due to language, migratory status, and/or other factors
If Alameda County undercounts by only 3%, we would lose $1 Billion over 10 years
The Urban Institute projects that 2.2 million (3.57%) Latinos around the U.S. could be undercounted in the 2020 census. And blacks could be undercounted by as much as 3.68%, or 1.7 million
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has predicted a 17% reduction in self-response in comparison with the 2010 Census.
If we can ensure the completion of 500 census surveys, we ensure a million dollars for our community for 10 years. And we aim to do just that. Because we are a Gospel-loving church, we believe that everyone counts. We see our neighbors because we love our neighbors as Christ commands us, and so we’ll be working hard in the next few months, ensuring more resources for our community in the decade to come. We’re going to have a table at our event today, and one of our Census Ambassadors, Jonny Victorio, can help you pre-register to take the census right here with us beginning March 12th, in our very own Cherryland Computer Café, the only designated Census Questionnaire Assistance Center in Cherryland!
Recuerdan la pregunta para el censo acerca de la ciudadanía que el gobierno propuso el año pasado? Fue un intento astuto de inyectar miedo a 12 millones de personas en nuestras comunidades, un intento para disminuir los recursos para las áreas con mayor concentración de personas indocumentadas. El miedo es una táctica favorecida por la administración actual. Desde el inicio de su campaña, el miedo al otro y el odio han sido su base. Quieren borrar a la gente de color. Y no ser contado es darles exactamente lo que quieren. A la mejor está pensando, «¿Por qué debo ser contado yo?» Es por medio del censo que pasa cada 10 años que es determinado nuestra representación en el congreso, como se distribuyen 675 mil millones de dólares para beneficiar al público, por ejemplo los fondos para medi-cal, las escuelas, las carreteras, etc. Por cada persona no contada el pueblo pierde $20,000 en 10 años. Ese es dinero para la escuela de su hija o hijo. Si en el condado de Alameda no cuentan a solo 3%, el Condado pierde mil millones de dólares, mil millones. Las estadísticas dicen que el 3% de la población latina no será contada.
Hoy, yo propongo otro camino, un camino similar al que escogió María. María no guardó silencio; tampoco deberíamos hacerlo nosotros. Ella fue contada a pesar de ser vulnerable, y eso hizo toda la diferencia, la profecía se cumplió debido a su valor. Sí podemos asegurar 500 encuestas censales, aseguramos un millón de dólares para nuestra comunidad durante 10 años. Y nuestro objetivo es hacer exactamente eso. Porque creemos que todos cuentan, estaremos trabajando duro en los próximos meses, asegurando más recursos para nuestra comunidad esta próxima década. Hoy tendremos una mesa en la fiesta, y uno de nuestros embajadores del censo, Jonny Victorio, puede ayudarlo a registrar para realizar el censo aquí con nosotros a partir del 12 de marzo, en nuestro propio Café Internet, el ¡único Centro de Asistencia para el Cuestionario del Censo en Cherryland! Hermanas y hermanos, en 2020, este Censo, rompemos el ciclo de subcontar y subrepresentar. Nos ponemos de pie con la madre María y declaramos proféticamente: “Dios ha esparcido a los soberbios en el pensamiento de sus corazones. Ha quitado a los poderosos de sus tronos; Y ha exaltado a los humildes; A los hambrientos ha colmado de bienes Y ha despedido a los ricos con las manos vacías.” Ya es hora exigir la dignidad y exclamar «nuestra comunidad cuenta, nuestra comunidad pertenece».
Contrary to popular portrayal, Mary was not docile nor silent concerning the oppressors of her day; neither should we be. She went to be counted in spite of her vulnerability, and that made all the difference, prophecy was fulfilled because of her courage: Jesus was more than just a product of midi-chlorians. In keeping with the reference, Mary was less like Shmi Skywalker and more like Padmé Amidala or even Jyn Erso of Rogue One, and Leia Organa, leaders of rebellions, subverters of empire. Empires past have banned Mary’s hymn from being recited in worship.
I say let us sing with Mary, let us stand up to be counted, in spite of fear-mongering and hate speech, in-spite of the what-ifs. In 2020, this Census, we break the cycle of undercounting and under-representation. We stand up with mother Mary and prophetically declare, “God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, but lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, but sent the rich away empty.” Let us partner in turning the world right side up in the acting out of Mary’s grand theology of reversals, this census, this decade. Amen.
Blessing:
Echoing the motif that Joseph so long ago exclaimed to his brothers, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good,” may we all turn dark into light. Recordamos a José, el hijo de Israel, cuando exclamó a sus hermanos: «Ustedes pensaron hacerme mal, pero Dios lo cambió en bien», que todos podamos convertir la oscuridad en luz. Citizens, sojourners, and not-yet-citizens, all part of the beloved community, let us exclaim together and to one another that “our community counts, our community belongs.” “Nuestra comunidad cuenta; nuestra comunidad pertenece.” And May the Force of Mary be always with you. Que la fuerza de María esté siempre con usted. Amén.
