As I was reading the Pentecost text in Acts last Sunday, I was struck by something that had not caught my attention before. Every other time I have read this text I have focused on all the apostles speaking in so many languages. This time I found myself drawn more to what all those tongues were flapping about - speaking to all who would listen about "las maravillas de Dios" - the wonders of God. Perhaps it was reading the text in Spanish that reoriented my focus, or perhaps it was because I was still thinking about the wonder of God Richard experienced this past week.
This past Wednesday a displaced
campesino
(poor farmer) was killed in the department (state) of Sucre. His
name was Rogelio Martínez Mercado. He was the leader of a group of
displaced people who were (and are still) fighting for the recuperation
of their land so they can start their lives again. He was on a
motorcycle near his home in San Onofre when two men on another
motorcycle rode past and shot and killed him. None of this was for the
honor and glory of God. This was out of greed and a desire for power.
However, the
response to this act
of violence is important. People were not silent, not at all. Thursday three people, Richard and two people representing the Presbyterian Church of Colombia
(IPC) went to mourn the death of their brother in
Christ and to show their solidarity with the family and the community.
There they encountered people from all over the north coast,
representatives of human rights organizations from Bogotá, officials
from the governments of Sweden and Norway as well as the United Nations.
All were there to condemn the assassination and to call for a different
future for that community and for this country. (You can read more about Richard's experience by clicking here to go to our blog.)
What happened did not immediately change a
difficult situation. It does not assure that something like this will
never happen again. But in the midst of the fear and confusion, in
multiple tongues, with old people dreaming of a better day and young
people envisioning their role in creating a more peaceful world – there
the prophecy of Joel was alive. There was another Pentecost. Things
such as this
are for the honor and glory of God. These
are the continuing wonders of God.
This experience reminded me not to be confused that Pentecost was a
time that is over or and event that only came once, years ago, and was
left in the past. We are ever in the midst of Pentecost. The Spirit of
God is not a gift that
poured out but that is
pouring out
on God’s servants always. Our responsibility is to be witnesses of
those moments, to name them for all to see – in Barranquilla, in Colombia, in Washington, DC, in your hometown, until the ends of the earth.
We have more stories and pictures on our blog so please check in there as well.
You can read more about what happened in San Onofre by checking one of the following links:
Lutheran World Relief – http://www.lwr.org/colombia/rogelio/
Associated Press - Land activist killed by gunmen in Colombia
Amnesty International – Condemns the killing of a humans rights defender
And at the bottom of the following article are steps you can take to help do something about this from right where you are:
Chicago Religious Leadership Network for Latin America
We appreciate your support, blessings during this Pentecost season, and remember that we're always up for a visit!
Peace~
Mamie and Richard
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