This sermon was preached at the Monday Eucharist service on January 30, 2017 by first-year Mia Benjamin. The texts for this sermon are: Hebrews 11:32–40 , Psalm 31:19–24 , and Mark 5:1–20 . “But Jesus refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’” I was going to preach a very different sermon today. Right up until last Friday, that is. That’s when I learned that President Trump signed an Executive Order suspending the entry of refugees and immigrants into the United States. His order affects the citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, and it’s still unclear whether that applies green-card and visa holders, although it’s still affecting them. Perhaps you, like me, have spent this past weekend praying for friends abroad who are now suddenly unable to return home. American doctors, professors, students, and business-owners facing exile from the homeland they have served and built and taught