For you know that the Day of the Lord
will certainly come like a thief in the night.
People will say “peace and security,” but suddenly, disaster will
come. And the people will not escape.
Paul wrote these words to the Christian community he founded at the bustling
Greek seaport of Thessalonica. The
members of that community had converted to the Way of Jesus from pagan
religions. They put aside all the other
messages that were calling out to them in the world, choosing to follow the Way
of faith. Paul had to leave that
community abruptly, but he remained concerned for their welfare. He wrote them a letter of encouragement and
advice in the midst of the trials and persecutions that they were
experiencing. Paul told them that the
Second Coming of the Lord would come at an unexpected and unannounced time, so
they needed to be ready.
Even though Paul wrote those words in
the middle of the first century, they still speak to us in our present
day. Today – November 16, 2014 – is the
25th anniversary of the martyrs of El Salvador, of 8 Catholics who were killed
for their faith in that small country in Central America. Since the early days of the Church, martyrs
have had a special place in the community of saints. As we honor and remember
these martyrs from El Salvador, we might wonder: How do their lives and their
stories affect us in our lives here in Mississippi? These killings took place
in November 1989 at the height of the Salvadoran civil war. The military forces in that country were
ordered to kill Jesuit Father Ignacio Ellacuría, the rector of the University
of Central America, and to leave no witnesses.
So they killed him with the 5 other priests, their housekeeper, and her
daughter who were all present at the residence on that day.
Why would military forces want to kill a
Catholic priest? It was out of fear of
the message that he proclaimed. That
message reached out to the pain of the people that he saw around him in a
country torn apart by Civil War. That
message cut to the heart of the poverty and the oppression that afflicted so
much of the population in El Salvador.
Why was there so much injustice? Why
is the oppression in our society overlooked?
These Jesuit priests asked those questions and those in power felt
threatened, taking action to destroy these priests and the message they brought
to the world, the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why it is
important for us to remember these 6 Jesuits priests and their companions who
were murdered.
It is without a doubt an inspiring
story, but what is the connection to us?
We think of all the justice issues we are grappling with as a society. Last summer, we heard about the many
accompanied minors were coming to our country to start a new life from places
like El Salvador. What the home
countries doing to remedy the harsh situation so many of its citizens facing,
forcing them to flee for their lives?
And how is the Gospel challenging us here in the United States to
respond? Immigration reform is a topic
that divides our country and that sparks a lot of arguments and debates. How are our Gospel values asking us to
respond to the immigrants who are looking for answers, for hope, and for a safe place to live? Do we respond in fear and anger? Or do we respond as children of the light, as
Paul calls the Thessalonians. We all
know that we have a lot of complicated issues that face our country and our
world, and burying our heads in the sand and not taking action is not what our
faith calls us to do.
The Jesuits have said that the lives and
the loss of these martyrs in El Salvador have influenced the Jesuit community
in the United States and throughout the world, calling them to think about what
it means to be a parish community or a Catholic school. It harkens us to think about what it means to
address issues of social justice in our Church.
We shouldn’t be afraid to bring up the
Gospel of Justice in our world. In fact,
with the topic of so-called “mercy killing” or euthanasia making news, Pope
Francis this weekend called it is a false sense of compassion to say that
euthanasia brings dignity when it is in fact an act against God and against
creation. Some may criticize our Pope,
our Bishops, and our Priests when we bring up topics that may be controversial
in society. However, what so many admire about Pope Francis is
that he is real. He is not afraid to
have a conversation, to listen, to challenge, to look at the reality around us
right in the face. And he wants us to
infuse the world with the values of our faith in the same way.
I recently read a staggering statistic:
50 years ago, about 75% Catholics went to mass every Sunday and on holy days of
obligation. Today, of those who identify
themselves as Catholic, only about 25% regularly attend Sunday mass. And if we feel like we aren’t getting out of
mass what we need to, what are we doing to change that? Going to mass is not like going to a movie or
to a football game. It is not entertainment. It is a holy encounter with God.
God gives us gifts and talents – we are
not to conserve them or hide them like the one servant in the Gospel
today. Let us not be afraid to dream, to
take risks, to challenge others in the faith.
As Paul says, let us be children of the light.
No comments:
Post a Comment