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" Republican strategist Peter Wehner says, “Trumpism is not a political philosophy; it is a purposeful effort, led by a demagogue, to incite ugly passions, stoke resentments and divisions, and create fear of those who are not like ‘us’—Mexicans, Muslims, and Syrian refugees. But it will not end there. There will always be fresh targets.” Conservative evangelical Wehner contrasts that with the principles of Jesus, saying, “[A] carpenter from Nazareth offered a very different philosophy. When you see a wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, Jesus taught, you should not pass him by. ‘Truly I say to you,’ he said in Matthew, ‘to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.’ . . . At its core, Christianity teaches that everyone, no matter at what station or in what season in life, has inherent dignity and worth.”15 Michael Gerson, a former speechwriter and top policy adviser to George W. Bush, and an originator of “compassionate conservatism,” says, [O]ur faith involves a common belief with unavoidably public consequences: Christians are to love their neighbor, and everyone is their neighbor. All the appearances of difference—in race, ethnicity, nationality and accomplishment "
― Jim Wallis , Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus
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" Martin Luther King Jr. said in the final sermon of his life, the day before he was assassinated, about the dangers of the Jericho Road: It’s a winding, meandering road. It’s really conducive for ambushing. . . . In the day of Jesus it came to be known as the “Bloody Pass.” And you know, it’s possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it’s possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the Levite asked was, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”1 "
― Jim Wallis , Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus
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" Perhaps my favorite story about Francis is that first encounter he reportedly had with his guard after becoming pope. As I have heard it, Argentinian cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio had just spent his first night sleeping as Pope Francis. In the morning he went outside of his new simple guest room and discovered a Swiss Army guard, who traditionally protects the pope. “Who are you?” Francis asked. “I am your guard” came the reply. “Where is your chair?” asked Francis. “My commandant says we must stand while we guard.” Then Francis told the guard there was now a new commandant. “How long have you been here?” asked Francis. “All night,” replied the guard. The pontiff told the guard to wait a minute, then came out with a chair for him to sit on. When Francis asked him if he had had something to eat, the guard started to say, “My commandant . . .” then trailed off. “Wait a minute,” said Francis again, then came back with a sandwich, and the two sat and ate together. A closed and judging church was trying to become an open and encountering church. "
― Jim Wallis , Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus
