The God Present in Jerusalem Is Also Present in the Wilderness

The God Present in Jerusalem Is Also Present in the Wilderness
Psalm 63

When I came to the United States, I didn’t know that Jesus is a common Hispanic name, nor did I know that Jesus is pronounced “Heysus” in Spanish, which reduces the confusion. The difference in pronunciation is key to our favorite song by a singer we went to hear last night: “Jesus Lives in Juarez, Mexico.” Juarez is twin city to El Paso, Texas; they sit either side of the Rio Grande. There was once easy movement between the two cities, but not nowadays. It’s not easy for Mexicans who want to get into the United States for work, and in a different way it’s not so easy for U.S. citizens aware of Juarez’s recent reputation as the murder capital of the world—not least because of its key place in connection with drug trafficking. In the song, the Mexican Jesus tells the storyteller of the tough side to being a migrant worker, driven on by both faith and desperation. Yet there’s a gentleness, peace, and grace about this Jesus that conveys something to the storyteller with his own different neediness. Jesus lives in Juarez, Mexico...