Don’t Forget Who the Real Enemy Is

“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you.”
—Luke 6:27-28
 
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for God makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”
—Matthew 5:43-45

Yesterday I was among more than 600 clergy from many faith traditions—along with 50,000 people—who marched together for the righteous cause to end the occupation by 3,000 ICE officers in our great state of Minnesota. We are not protesters. We are good neighbors. The holy actions, speeches, and recent arrests of my clergy colleagues is barely in the rearview mirror of our lives when we find ourselves again in this place of grieving disbelief.

Lord in Your Mercy, end this occupation.

Yesterday we felt hope. Yesterday we felt encouraged. Yesterday we felt empowered. Yes, in minus 11-degree weather our bodies were cold, but our hearts were warmed. We knew that we are a not alone here in Minneapolis. We felt your prayers. This morning those feelings are being pushed aside again for another violent encounter with ICE officers on the South Side of Minneapolis.

Lord in Your Mercy, end this occupation.

My home is in South Minneapolis, not too far from where the epicenter of grief and mourning erupted. Yet, I am far enough to not hear the sirens and the whistles and the screams of “Get in your house!” Those voices and sounds of violence live in my body now. I suspect they may have taken residence in your body. too.

Lord in Your Mercy, end this occupation.

We are 17 days past the day Renee Good was killed, and now we grieve another, this time a brother Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an ICU nurse who wanted to be a “force for good.”[1] Two hundred clergy on Thursday went on patrol along one of the hardest hit areas of our city, along Lake street not far from where Alex Pretti was shot 10 times. Friends, we are all working hard to hold fast to love, hold fast to compassion, and hold fast to justice until only peace remains. It feels like they are winning. Don’t be fooled.

Hold fast to love. Don’t let hate invade.

I want to make something very clear today after this most recent killing: ICE officers are not our enemy. They are people caught in a larger oppressive system that is occupying our democracy and violating our values. This present evil is much larger than that.

Hold fast to compassion. Don’t let cruelty reign.
 
Jesus says very clearly in the Gospels we are to love our enemies. “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you.[2]” Also, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… for God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good.[3]”

The enemy is hate. 
The enemy is silence. 
The enemy is cruelty. 
The enemy is racism.
The enemy is greed.
The enemy is believing we are each other’s enemies.

Hate wins when we let evil infect our hearts and minds.

About an hour ago our General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ called me from Germany. Like me, Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson had little to say in this horrible moment. I am numb. My body and spirt is tired from all the marching and praying this week. We were silent for a time together in our disbelieving grief, breathing in and out, together.

Feel what is in your body. Hold the hand of someone you love. Light a candle. Eat some food.

Hold fast to justice. Don’t let rage win.

Here in Minneapolis we are being asked to light a candle, and meet our neighbors and remember Alex and Renee and all those who have been shot, who have been abducted, who have disappeared from our neighborhoods. This is not the first time tyranny has reared its head among the people. We can us the tools of our voices, our presence, our dollars, our votes, and our pulpits to end this occupation.

Do the good that is yours to do. But above all, love them, do not hate them. 

The Holy One loves them, and so must we,

Rev. Dr. Tanya Sadagopan
Conference Minister
Minnesota Conference of the UCC

[1] New York Times, January 24, 2026, “Alex Jeffrey Pretti Knew He Wanted to Help Others.”
[2] Luke 6:27-28
[3] Matthew 5:43-45