SAN SALVADOR TOUR

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

We are gathered in a classroom at a school that is one outreach ministry of a Protestant church in San Salvador. After a presentation from the students, which to my surprise was mostly comprised of quotes from Pope John Paul II on justice themes, I have a discussion with the Principal of the school. He informs me that the section of San Salvador where the school is located is the most violent in the country. Boys and young men of 15 to 17 years are killing one another. All the young people are influenced by the gangs. The school has begun a program -- Culture of Peace -- a prevention effort integrated with the work of the sponsoring church.

The visit to the Chapel where Archbishop Mons. Romero was killed in 1980 is an emotional experience. This is Protestant Pastor's sacred space. He says that there are people who wish to be known as "Romeros." He cautions us with a smile not to tell anyone that he wants to be a Romero. The fact is that the Pastor's relationship with Mons. Romero started many years ago. He was part of an ecumenical group in which the Archbishop participated. The Pastor tells us that Romero was quite open to these relationships.

The Pastor repeats a number of times that the bullet that hit Romero exploded his heart. I wonder about the assassin choosing the moment of the elevation of the cup to fire the bullet. Judas chooses his moment. Is this a religious sensibility at work or simply the moment of opportunity when those present have their eyes bowed? The assassination came after the Archbishop had preached his most frank and forceful sermon. He told the soldiers carrying out orders to intimidate and kill the poor that they did not have to follow the orders of their superior officers. A group of the elite of the country organized to pay for his assassination. The Pastor tells us that there were bishops of the Catholic church who joined parties celebrating the death of the Archbishop. "Judas" he says.

 At the little house where Romero lived there are photos. Romero's photos show him wearing clerical garb, often surrounded by smiling family groups. At the entrance to the courtyard there is a table with books of Romero's sermons. A nun of the Carmelite sisters is in charge of the sale of the books. We talk about Romero. I ask about where he is in the canonization process. She tells me that he is a "servio de Dios." She says that the Vatican is reviewing his writings and his life. Her comment that is that the process could move along much faster as it normally does for "martyrs." The social and political issues are slowing the process.

I put forward the opinion that the current Pope is unlikely to allow his canonization. As Ratzinger in charge of the Doctrine of the Faith he was frequently in conflict with theologians of liberation. I say that perhaps the next Pope will allow it to pass forward. The sister tells me that bishops who have spoken to the Pope believe that he may act to promote the canonization himself. She then refers to what Casadiglia, the poet bishop of Brazil, has said -- that the influence of Romero on those who work for social justice is what is most important, not any formal canonization.

WIKI SERMON

Jesus calls fishers/ fishermen to follow him and the phrase we remember -- to become “fishers of people.”  Jesus calls us today too and I suggest that he draws on the skills we have.  We are not fishers -- we have many other kinds of skills, including today many of us are “silver surfers” using another kind of "net." We are among that large group of people in the later decades of life who have taken up the internet.  One expert says that women over the age of 55 are the fastest growing group of those on Facebook.  I think it’s how you keep track of the grandchildren.

Have you heard the word "wiki"?  On the internet we have "wikipedia," a free encyclopedia that is 10 times as big as the Encyclopedia Britannica and, according to some researchers, of equivalent quality.  Wikipedia was created by volunteers and you can go onto the internet, go to Wikipedia, look up a subject you have some knowledge about, sign in and update and strengthen the article.  Wiki’s are platforms for "mass collaboration," and they reveal the potential and the power of following.  The articles that many people develop together are all anonymous.  Many people collaborate without thought of personal benefit in order to create together something that could not be created by one individual.

We are currently in the age of the "wiki."  Perhaps a previous age was about the hero, the individual innovator, entrepreneur, researcher working alone.  The challenges and creations of today make this the age of the follower.  People today do not follow in order to imitate mindlessly; they follow to carry forward significant tasks collaboratively.  

Linux is another example.  This is the Operating System (OS), the open software that thousands of software developers and and companies have worked on to power all sorts of devices -- computers, GPS, mobile phones and so on.  No-one owns Linux.  Many -- 3,200 developers in two years 07-09 -- have contributed to it.  One man posted some code, another saw it and improved on it and then more and more followed suite.  Linux is the creation that could not have been created by just one company.

Jesus and the Christian movement understood this process long ago.  The first action of Jesus after his baptism and time of strengthening in the desert was to call followers.  From what we can gather Simon and Andrew answered the call of Jesus immediately.  James and John modeled their response on Simon and Andrew.  They did not hesitate but left their nets to become fishers of people.  Today people follow Jesus because they witness good people following Jesus.  People meet Jesus through the mediation of the Church, the followers of Jesus.  Our role as follower of Jesus is very important.  We model a possibility for others.  We show how one can work collaboratively to carry through great projects.  Let us remember that the Western systems of education and health-care, the universities and hospitals were church community initiatives.  We have to ask ourselves what initiatives are needed today?  Will the churches collaborate with other faith traditions and secular movements to contribute to the sustainability of the human presence on earth?  What will we contribute to the vulnerable eco-systems of the suffering earth?

The Wiki of today is not/ and should not be a "mob."  The Wiki is and should be geared to a good purpose, and it self-regulates, is open to constant correction.  In the same way the movement in response to Jesus is not to be a mob.  A Church is to be self-critical and self-regulating.  The Christian movement remembers that the first disciple -- Simon Peter -- was disciplined by Jesus.  Simon wanted Jesus and the early community to evade the cross.  The Messiah, in Simon Peter's view, was not to suffer.  Jesus says to Peter -- Get behind me, Satan.  In other words, Simon Peter, get in line with my acceptance of the cross for if you refuse to follow me to the cross you are straying onto the path of Satan. 

The Christian church communities of today can learn from the Wiki collaborations that are a feature of the present age.  We can learn to take on important tasks, using our best talents and current skills in a fashion that will not seek individual rewards and solely personal advantage.  We can embrace the technology of our time to collaborate more effectively than we have done in past.  The early Christian movement understood that the body of Christ can do great things.

The Wiki movements of today can learn from the Christian movement as it has again and again over 2000 years taken up the challenge of reform of our mass collaboration.  Collaboration -- that is, church community -- should serve the poor and, as we understand better today the good of the whole earth.  This collaboration should be done in freedom and without coercion.  This collaboration must look beyond advantage to be gained in our own lifetime.  We follow in order to contribute to the good of the whole.  And we collaborate with the knowledge that the more firmly we keep Jesus' words and actions in mind, the more we remain open to the influence of the Holy Spirit, the more complete and effective will be our contribution.

To mention one follower of Jesus who has passed on: On Friday we went to the memorial service at Christ Church for our friend Canon Tim Grew.  The church was full and the many conversations were about the influence that Tim had in the lives of the people who knew him.  Tim worked with many social justice causes, he was always on the side of the poor.  And he was a man who loved to enter into a conversation.  Tim had been a follower of Jesus his whole life.  He had strengthened by both encouragement and criticism many other followers of Jesus.  I hope that each one of us can be a follower of Jesus for others.  I hope that each one of us can reach out to many others in a network of love and service especially for those most in need.

EPIPHANY - I AM THE BELOVED

Reflections at Joyceville C.I. on the Epiphany/Baptism of Jesus. You are my son, the Beloved.

Like it or not, we are social beings. What others think of us shapes us. The epiphany or revelation for us that comes from our knowledge of Jesus is that our social relations need not, do not determine how we decide and how we think about ourselves.

Our perception of what others think can push us to conform or to rebel. This is an issue that Jesus had to face and that each one of us has to face. If others think badly of me, will their views influence me to think badly about myself? Will their views push me into behaving other than the way that I know I should?

Let us consider Jesus who comes to the Jordan to be baptized by his cousin John. Jesus was a carpenter from Galilee, a young man when he came on the public scene. For the power elite living in the capital city of Israel, that is, Jerusalem, people from Galilee were considered untrustworthy. Galilean Jews mixed too much with non-Jews; Galileans didn't have the opportunity to live the strict practices of the community; didn't attend the Temple regularly; Galileans had a history of raising movements of protest against the occupying forces of the Romans. As a Galilean, Jesus was suspect. He was on the outside, on the periphery, not from the centre. Even for the leaders of his own people he was a potential threat to the established order. The Roman military would have seen him as someone to be carefully watched.

Later in his ministry Jesus is accused of being a drunkard and a glutton. After all, he had a big thing about sharing meals -- even with public sinners like the tax collector.

It appears that Jesus did not allow negative perceptions of him throw him off course. Why is that? We have a clue in the baptism of Jesus. The communal memory represented in the New Testament accounts says that Jesus knew he was beloved by God. When Jesus came up out of the waters of the Jordan he had an experience of being loved by the "Father." Jesus knew in a definitive way that he was the son of the Father, that he was the Beloved. He lived this relationship each day. The evidence is that he prayed to God as "Abba," that is, in very intimate terms as "Daddy."

What others thought of him did not determine the course of his decisions. He already knew that he was the Beloved of God. So neither the authorities of Israel, nor the Roman military, nor his closest friends and disciples, nor even his own mother or family members could lead him to think less of himself or turn from the way he thought he should go.

What freedom! And each one of us who completely accepts God's word of love for us -- we too can live with that freedom. We can know that we too are beloved and we can live from now on as our deepest and most real self. God created me good and I am good. My value comes only from Abba, Yahweh, God. Nobody else gives me my value. I am free.