Borders

A few nights ago, I ran into Sergio Gomez, a friend from a long time ago, when we both went to church in Hammond, Indiana. (Long story, not that interesting.)

Sergio is now attending New Hope Church in Lansing, Illinois. His father-in-law is the pastor. Sergio is a musician, an artist, a designer, and he has done a lot of cool graphic work for the growing church.

Anyway, Sergio and I exchanged business cards, and when I got home, I visited some of his websites. I found his piece “The Bleeding Border” (shown above) to be powerful, thought-provoking, and poetic. It speaks volumes on its own, but you’ll want to click on the image above to read more details, including the translation of the haunting text around the edge of the painting.

You might also want to read New York Times article that inspired him to paint this piece, “Crossing with Strangers.” Sergio says:

“After I read the article, I was compelled to make the painting. Most people never hear about the children who die in the desert. I crossed the border by air and was never aware of the situation while I lived in Mexico. It was only after meeting many people who came to know Jesus at my dad’s Spanish-speaking church in Joliet (Illinois) that I realized how bad it was.”

Whatever your opinion is of immigration, aliens, Mexico, and the Spanish language, it’s different when you know someone real whose life is touched by the policies we debate. Not “they” or “those people,” but him. Sergio. Or Rosa. Or Miguel. Mothers. Children. Artists. Fellow Christians.

I’d be interested to read any comments you have about “The Bleeding Border”—what do you see in this piece? Beauty? Ugliness? Fear? Hope? Yourself? Someone else? Let me know.