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Driving out the ruler of this world John 12:20-33  In John 12:26, Jesus speaks to us: Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.  I am stepping into dangerous territory. For some, what I am about to say will verge on meddling. Hear me out, for in my mind the issue about which I write is one of social justice, and one about which Christians must pray, study scripture, dialogue, and then pray some more.  You can perhaps understand why for me the topic of immigration hits so close to home. Being a first generation immigrant myself, I relate in a very personal way to issues and struggles facing any immigrant from any foreign land. I cannot be objective on the issue of what we should do with “illegal aliens”. Though a foreigner, I have never faced the kind of open hostility which my Hispanic – Latino sisters and brothers are facing. In spite of my foreigner status, my foreign parents and family (complete with strong Dutch accent), no one has ever suggested that I do not belong here, or that I should go back where I came from. (At least not to my face.) You can draw your own conclusions as to why I have been treated differently.  The way in which we define being servants of Jesus Christ is open to interpretation, and we will not unanimously agree on a definition. A question for me is this: when it comes to being in Christian fellowship with our immigrant brothers and sisters, can we take the position that our servanthood is not applicable? Some leaders have suggested that it should be considered a crime to provide assistance – including faith-based assistance – to illegal immigrants. Does that mean, then, that those folks are illegal in the eyes of God? The ruler of this world will be driven out, Jesus tells his followers, and I --- will draw all people to myself. (12:31-32) We need to decide who rules our world, and whom we choose to follow, especially when it comes to developing relationships with brothers and sisters who are unlike us. It’s a God thing – isn’t it?            - Pastor Piet - April 2, 2006