barefoot benedictions

“All of them said, ‘Let him be cruicified!’ Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’” – Matthew 27:22-23 (NRSV)

Alex Pretti, murdered by federal agents in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, is the latest in a series of tragic killings. Killings at the hands of the government under the banner of “law and order.” Alex and his family are part of a growing phenomenon of state-sanctioned human suffering in the United States. Men, women, and children caught up in a xenophobic, racist, and cruel response to a broken immigration system. Much is being written and preached on the unChristian theology propping up immigration enforcement in our country right now. I am comforted by many mainline Christian leaders and the strong response they are offering.

I want to share an experience I had this week regarding Alex’s death and the situation in the Twin Cities.

I keep up on LinkedIn because my work encourages us to do so. I refrain from anything that could be deemed “political” as a result. I dislike social media generally, but recognize that each platform is different and there can be benefits to positive engagement. Watching the videos of Alex’s murder, I was overwhelmed with grief. Overwhelmed with the need to ask God’s forgiveness and mercy. Overwhelmed by the desire to speak out as a chaplain. I shared a simple prayer on LinkedIn for Alex, and for our country. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Folks I know to be politically conservative, even supporters of President Trump, affirmed the prayer and added their voices.

A comment on a comment, from someone I’m not connected with, struck me. It turned my prayer on its head, asking God to stop protestors from protesting and putting themselves in harms way. In the days since Alex’s murder, I’ve heard similar responses from some family, friends, and in the media. Self-described “Christians” praising federal action, arguing innocent people harmed by such action must have had it coming. And this got me thinking…what would such folks have done if they’d been in the crowd the day Pilate paraded out his latest victim?

Historians don’t have much evidence for Jesus of Nazareth. What they do have is clear; he existed, he preached throughout the Galilee and Judea, and was executed by Pontius Pilate for the crime of sedition. Sedition. “Conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.” The synoptic Gospels are equally clear which act pushed the authorities over the edge – the cleansing of the Temple. Jesus, angry at what he saw as the defilement of Judaism’s most holy site, responded. (NOTE: Jesus is only violent towards things, not toward people) The Temple had become too aligned with King Herod, with Rome, and this offended Jesus’ prophetic mission and his understanding of how we commune with God. Making matters worse, the Gospels tell us this occurred during Passover, a time of heightened political tension in Jerusalem. One can imagine the additional armed Roman presence in the city, with directives to maintain “order.” Jewish authorities, anxious about Roman indifference and proclivity for violence, terrified at what Rome’s response might be. We all know how this story ends.

For a moment, let’s place ourselves in the commons as Pilate incites the crowd. Jesus, the “Temple cleanser,” barely able to stand from the beating he’s just endured, forced to remain at Pilate’s side.

Would you say, “he should have stayed out of the Temple if he didn’t like how we do things!” “He should have obeyed the law!” Or…upon seeing the tortured figure, would you have yelled, “Mercy!” I’m sure we’d tell ourselves we’d scream the latter, and yet, we condone the murder Alex Pretti and the jailing of children? We as a nation are failing to see Jesus condemned in the faces of other human beings. When this happens, we are among those shouting, “Crucify him!”