On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Go and do likewise: golden amber and saffron, white sandalwood, and clove.

— — — — — —

In an effort to justify the cruel, heartless separation of migrant children from their families, Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that it is “very biblical to enforce the law”, and Attorney General Sessions invoked Romans 13 – the same Bible passage so often utilized in the past to justify slavery: “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.”

Boy howdy, you monstrous, merciless ghouls, does Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab have a Bible lesson for you.

I have assembled a collection of simple, elegant scents, all of which have been inspired by timely, instructive passages in the Bible. Proceeds from the sales of these scents will benefit RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families and refugees in Central and South Texas. If you choose not to purchase any scents, please consider donating directly toRAICESif you have the means, or consider supporting one of these organizations:

The Texas Civil Rights Project
The Florence Project in Arizona
Kids in Need of Defense
The Young Center
The American Civil Liberties Union

Call your representatives now and tell them that you demand that the Trump Administration immediately cease this inhumane, horrific system of separating migrant children from their families. Ask your representatives to support the following pieces of legislation:

S. 3036– Keep Families Together Act
R. 2572– Protect Family Values at the Border Act
R. 5950/S. 2937– the HELP Separated Children Act
R. 2043ANDS. 2468– Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2018

Both the ACLU and 5Calls provide scripts that will help if you don’t want to call unprepared.

Protest, call, Resistbot, fax, and show up at your representatives’ offices. Make your voice heard, take a stand against this cold-blooded and brutal policy, and VOTE. Vote these heartless monsters out on their asses.

Label illustration by Gustave Doré

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