I am here not in a spirit of righteousness; I am here in a spirit of repentance. 

Speaking as a Christian, if I’m sincere in trying to follow Jesus, I have to take it very seriously that Jesus made it very clear that what we do for the least among us we have done to him, and what we do not do for the least among us we have not done to him. He was clear this isn’t just about what we do as individuals, but as nations.

Jesus made it very clear whom he means by the “least of these:” those who are foreigners in our land, those who are imprisoned, those who need food and shelter and safety and welcome. These are the most vulnerable among us – most vulnerable to being cast as scapegoats, most vulnerable to violence and neglect. 

Jesus also made it very clear what’s at stake in whether we as a nation are compassionate or cruel to immigrants and others who are vulnerable. What’s at stake is everything: this is a matter of soul-survival. (Matthew 25:31-46)

I cannot hear these words and not feel profoundly convicted, as a Christian American citizen – convicted for how we have allowed the rise of this vicious and merciless targeting of our neighbors and friends and coworkers who are immigrants, making them out to be scapegoats for everything that’s wrong with our country. 

Because of this, folks with legal status are being targeted and detained; and folks are having their legal status stripped away overnight just because of where they’re from. Because of this the huge majority of people who are getting swept up have no criminal record and are not a threat to anyone. This has led to a trampling of all our civil and human rights. It has sanctioned the sadistic celebration of people’s suffering. 

Now, as a clergy person, I’m all about grace – we’ve all got our blind spots and repentance doesn’t mean anything without grace to support us in being called into a better way of life. This is not about calling out, it’s about calling in.

We are all being called in to our responsibility to care for our neighbors and their humanity and dignity and civil and human rights.

Now, we are doing that here today at Target, in solidarity with our friends in Minnesota. But we could be at any number of other businesses that, like Target, have not cared to protect their workers against unconstitutional and terrifying searches and seizures and arrests while at work. There are any number of other businesses that, like Target, have freely allowed ICE to use their property as staging areas, without even a word of complaint. The truth is that countless parts of our society are implicated.

We call on Target’s national management and call them in to change course and do right by their workers and their communities, and enact policies that protect their 4th Amendment rights, and to join us in calling on congress to not just make some nice sounding tweaks to immigration enforcement, but to withdraw the billions of dollars that have fed the monstrous growth of this dehumanizing machine.

We each and all have a responsibility to engage with whatever organizations we are a part of, be they places of work or faith communities or schools or unions or neighborhoods or cities and counties, and work to make sure those organizations are doing what they can to protect the rights of all those who participate in them with us. There’s just been a big countywide victory in Montco, and we’ve got a lot more to go.

This is life-saving, for those who are most vulnerable right now. And for all of us it’s good for the soul. Thank you for being a part of that, you all. Let’s see it through. Peace.

Delivered Sunday, March 29, 2026, by Rev. Nathaniel Mahlberg with a group singing, praying, chanting, and speaking at the King of Prussia Target Store