from Paul—a prisoner to the gospel of God—to all those
across the Eastern Ocean who have named themselves
after Christ, consider themselves His most holy people.
doubtless you have heard of the bonds of our brother,
Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal who, born in Honduras,
heeded God’s call to minster among you in Maryland
for over a decade. heard how he was stalked and taken
into the unholy hands of masked men on the road between
Lowes’ and McDonald’s. was shackled into the belly
of their beast, but preached the fruits of repentance—his hope
of their finding forgiveness in Jesus—to his captors
from his car to the cell they anonymously threw him in.
when such reached my ear, my spirit was greatly troubled,
but I took comfort assured that you—his siblings in Christ—
were firmly knit in condemning such actions, tied in the unity
of securing his release from imprisonments worse than mine.
that no disagreements could cut the knot of our fellowship.
I was astonished to hear some among you have raised your voice
against our brother on social media, confident in the baffling belief
our refugee Savior—who fled Judea for Egypt—would stand
within the invisible lines you’ve drawn about both His kingdoms.
given all we hold holy, how in the Hell—you so vehemently
sentence others to—have you allowed Phillip Doug to say
our brother “is not a victim if he is in our country illegally”? or
tolerate Todd James—a supposed minister of the Grace
of God—claims that “Christians who have illegal paperwork
are getting sent back to their country so they can preach the gospel
and lay their life down like the apostles did”? Miller Tonee rejoices
that people in his congregation are self-deporting. Herb Jimzel—
whose bio proclaims he spreads God's love to orphans, the poor,
and to those with no hope—says his family came here legally—
in all caps, with three exclamation points—sees no contradiction
between our brother’s treatment and “the word of God.” Shawn Dale
says pastor Espinal should be glad he wasn’t shot.
though I once warned the Philippians to beware the devious bitches
in their midst and wished botched circumcisions to scar my detractors
in Galatia, I’m uncharacteristically at a loss for words to address
those reprobate minds who forget our brother’s skin looks more like
our shared Savior’s than what they feign. fiery indignation scalds
my tongue to near-silence least I scandalize those of you who allow
such slander to continue.
hear the word of the LORD, set your house in order. God is faithful—
He will see to His servant, but will also remember and repay all you
have and not done, especially to those within the household of faith.
Editor’s note: This poem includes actual quotations found on social media in response to the story of Pastor Daniel, but the names of the authors of those quotations have been changed… on advice of counsel as well.
Author’s note: You can help free Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal by supporting his GoFundMe.
Matthew E. Henry (MEH) is the author of six poetry collections, most recently said the Frog to the scorpion. He is an educator and editor who received his MFA yet continued to spend money he didn’t have completing an MA in theology and a PhD in education. He writes about education, race, religion, and burning oppressive systems to the ground at www.MEHPoeting.com
