Scott Barber
Preface: Remembering Victims and Rejoicing with the Peacemakers
In May of 2006, I was asked to fill in as worship leader for a Sunday morning service at Brunswick Street United Church in Halifax. I gave an improvised sermon using a few notes, some pictures, and God's grace. During the week prior to the service, I'd been able to attend the Canadian Bible Society Symposium "Proclamation" held at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. I'd also learned about a call to prayer and action from our sister churches in Colombia and the United States for May 21 and 22 (1) - in solidarity with Colombians suffering violence and working for peace - and I wanted to make their circumstance to the focus of our intercession.
In this text version of my sermon, I've expanded a bit on the original talk and inserted full quotations from the transcript of the Galeano interview (2) - in lieu of my retelling from memory. The Scripture readings were read aloud beforehand (you might want to try it this way too!) and the images here were included in our Sunday bulletin. The photos and captions, in their witness to us, are an integral part of the sermon, for through them we hear the voices of children, women and men from Colombia. Voices of those affected by personal and systematic violence. Voices of victims and peacemakers.
Readings for the 6th Sunday in Easter (3)
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm 98 (p. 818 VU)
1 John 5:1-6
John 15:9-17
A Word About Us
Peace be with you in the name of our friend and teacher Jesus,
I want to thank the BSUC congregation, and in particular, Canadian Bible Society organizer Ron Briggs and our interim minister Terry Paul Choyce, for the opportunity to attend the "Proclamation Symposium" in Wolfville this past week. It will take some time to digest the full experience, and follow up on the ideas and perspectives presented at the conference. I do want to share with you though a couple of things that stood out for me .
First , the main event, held on the Wednesday evening. This worship service was a shortened version of what would normally be a 10 day Proclamation event, running 7am - 9pm each day. During those ten days, the Bible is read in its entirety. For our "Mini-Proclamation", representative passages from both the old and new testaments were read, and the reading was done in several different languages over the course of a couple of hours. Hearing the Bible read for the whole of a corporate worship service was a new experience for me, made even more profound by the diversity of languages spoken. It caused me to wonder at the diversity of the Church, and the power of the Word and Spirit to bring us together in our faith.
The second thing that stood out for me at the conference was a talk given by the Rev. Dr. Jody Clarke of AST (4). In part, he spoke about how, through the Bible and other writings, we can discover the character of Christ revealed. A teacher and guide, His life shows us a holy way to be in the world as we wrestle with what it means to be truly human in this world.
Look again at the cover of today's bulletin (5): "Remembering Victims & Rejoicing with the Peacemakers Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia ~ May 21 & 22, 2006" and hear this call for prayer and action from our sisters and brothers:
"Thousands of churches and people of faith from the U.S. and Colombia are coming together to call for an end to the violence in Colombia. On Sunday, May 21, congregations across the country will stand in solidarity with our Colombian brothers and sisters who have endured so much suffering, remembering the victims of Colombia's brutal conflict and praying for a peaceful future in Colombia. Then on Monday, May 22, we will take collective action to ask that U.S. policy promote peace and justice in Colombia rather than military involvement and violence." (6)
We in North America are separated from the experiences of others in our world by distance, privilege and fear. We fear things when we lack love and understanding, yet we are called by God to love our neighbors everywhere. In the Word of God we find reconciliation. This Word is God's Spirit bringing light to our darkness, and God's truth guiding us towards justice and peace.
For those of us living here in Canada, we may feel compassion for the sufferings of the victims of violence in Colombia and elsewhere, yet find it hard to believe we can contribute to an end to that violence, and harder yet to think we somehow have any responsibility for the continuation of such terrible oppression. In listening to some voices from Colombia and South America, in light of Scripture and our understanding of the nature of the Word, I hope that we will question what we really know, how we know it- and what we can do about the involvement of our governments and corporations in the violence taking place in Colombia. While they are acting explicitly or implicitly in our name, do we question whether their policies and actions really reflect the values we hold as peoples and Christians? It is our responsibility, both as citizens of our countries and as Christians, to participate in our society and this world with loving hearts full of compassion for the victims of oppression and enquiring minds in unity with the peacemakers, for truly, they are the children of God.
from Campo Minado by Leon Dario Pelaez (7)
On the cover of the bulletin I have tried to contrast images of victims and peacemakers, but as you can see, any given image may represent both roles. This is the situation in Colombia: priests, labour leaders, and humanitarian workers are assassinated, indigenous peoples are dispossessed and working families dislocated as a result of the violent oppression caused by political, military and economic conflict. The first photograph shows the victim of a land-mine detonation receiving first aid. (This photo is part of a documentary on a rehabilitation centre) Many of us here in Canada feel proud of the international campaign initiated in our country to end the use of land-mines and to eliminate the threat from remaining mines, yet there is such a long way to go to accomplish this goal. The use of land-mines by military and other groups in Colombia continues to kill and maim Colombians.
Do we North Americans understand the involvement of our governments and corporations in the militarization of Colombia? Who makes and sells these technologies? Are we aware of the power and monetary gain that motivates politicians and business people to continue to support state and factional terrorism? Do we understand the implications of this involvement for us- as citizens and Christians? Do we understand the role of para-militaries and gangs in the towns and country-side of Colombia? Threats, extortion, rape and executions are part of this landscape of violence.
from Huella Y Memoria by Patricia Bravo, 1991 (8)
The next photo shows a "graffiti mural", a public work honoring victims in its memorial and in its implicit cry for justice. It warns of a daily atmosphere of terror and fear that spreads beyond the family, friends and colleagues of those killed, to engulf an entire nation.
Colombia has experienced such violence for centuries. It is rooted in conquest by European empires, often with the participation of the church and other institutions of European culture. A history of men seeking to control the land and its fruits, occurring as it has from generation to generation, has created culture of greed and violence. The continuing oppression terrorizes the people of Colombia. Look at the remaining two pictures: one speaks of being a victim and the other of peacemaking. It is important to note that they were both created by 11 year old Colombian children, for an art exhibition promoting peace. Let me draw your attention to the captions, written by the children themselves (translated from the original Spanish):
"In the Pines they've killed lots of people, they've raped girls. For example last year they tortured a man, they cut him in half and left him naked. They've found girls dead there. Sometimes they rape girls and kill them afterwards and leave them there until they are found. That's why I took this photo." - Jazm’n Gonzalez / 11 anos (9)
"The workshops of Girls for Peace are fun." - Araminta Espitia Hurtado / 11 aos (10)
O God, how poignantly these two photographs contrast the terror and hope in the lives of a couple of kids in Colombia. They bear witness to the violence and proximity of death in the lives of these children, and yet reveal the joy and love of sisters. Truth, seen with their own eyes, spoken through their own lips. They are the victims and the peacemakers. Their witness is a thoughtful and passionate condemnation of violence and a celebration of peace. A word to the heart and the mind. A word to the spirit.
This word is spoken in the language of a people's history and experience. It is a cry for justice and peace that refuses to be silenced. This word is witness and hope from the minds and hearts of a generation of Colombian youth. Recently, the celebrated Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano reflected upon his search for an understanding of language and the word. His experience points towards an answer found in a unity of understanding and caring:
"I was always looking for a language who could integrate everything that has been culturally divorced from, for instance, heart and mind. So I was looking for a feel-thinking language, sentipensante, "feel-thinking." It's a word. I didn't invent the word. It's a word I heard years ago in the Colombian coast. A fisherman told me, "Hay gigrere en las palabras sentipensantes," when I told him I was a writer. "Ah, you're a writer." "Yes." "Oh." And he asked me if I was using a sentipensante language, a feel-thinking language. And so, he was a master. I mean, I learned a lot from this sentence forever. I am a sentipensante." (11)
In their photographs and words, Jazmin Gonzales and Araminta Espitia Hurtado show that they too are sentipensate. What does this mean, this being sentipensante? There is an integrity to this sentipensate that suggests that not only should the word remain true to the vision of the speaker but the speaker should remain true to the word spoken.. What about this notion of truth in relation to the word? Do we in the north still consider our word to be sacred? To give one's word, was at one time, to be bound to follow that word by course of action and in our daily living. Do we expect this same honesty, and truthfulness to the word from our representatives in government and other community leaders? Let me share with you some observations about truth and language made by Galeano:
"One of the oldest traditions in America, all America, because we are America also. The name "America" has been kidnapped by the United States. Really, we are part of America, no? And so in the three -- in all Americas, from North to South, from Alaska to Chile, one of the most beautiful traditions is the identity between word and fact in the Indian tradition. I mean the sacred nature of, the sacred character of word, of language. And this is something not so frequent in the dominant cultures, but they have kept it alive, this faith on words, on the sacred power of words.
Bolivia has now an Indian president, Evo Morales. It was at first a scandal. Evo Morales, an Indian president, and an Indian who was not ashamed of being what he is. First a scandal. The scandal would have been the fact that Bolivia took two centuries to realize that it was a country with Indian majority in the population, and it would be perfectly normal that they have an Indian president as Evo Morales. But this was the first scandal.
Now we have the second, and the second scandal came from the deep respect Evo Morales has for this Indian tradition of devotion to words. Why are so many people angry against him? Because he nationalized oil and gas. That's it. He did what he promised he would do, which is a cardinal sin from the viewpoint of a system based on lies, that teaches you to lie each day and each night, even when you're having dreams or nightmares." (12)
A "tradition of devotion to words"... This sense, preserved in indigenous traditions, of the sacredness of one's word has been lost in the contemporary societies of the Americas. Our shock at the election of an indigenous person to the presidency of his country is sadly matched by our surprise that he would keep his word. This is a telling response, which implies a systematic xenophobia and racism and shows how low our expectations regarding service in public office have become. We have forgotten that how we tell our stories, and whether we honor our word, is vital to our learning to live together in this world?
The rhetorical wars being waged in the media often do little to help us towards understanding, and co-operation between neighbors. For example, recently Hugo Chavez was re-elected in Venezuela. Yet here in the North, our media and our government officials demonize Chavez as an autocratic terrorist. It is only when one shines a light of truth on these misrepresentations that one begins to understand that it is because his policies affect the ability of our corporations and governments to exploit the resources and people of his country that he is misrepresented by government and corporate controlled media. In turn, he has countered this demonization with his own characterizations of George Bush's empire building. This kind of political theater is hardly the way to promote peace and understanding, and tends to obscure the truth. When peoples' perceptions are played in this way, we become liable to see individuals and nations as an abstract "other", and so fail to view our neighbors with an open awareness. Here's how Galeano described the struggle taking place between George Bush and Chavez on the world stage:
"What I do think about it? No, I think that Chavez is being demonized. I mean, he's one of the demons. I don't know if he will be demon tomorrow or not, but he's nowadays a good demon, useful for an international war machine who is always hungry of demons. I mean, they need demons to justify the fact that the world is just spending fortunes in the military industry. So, weapons need wars, and wars need alibis, and alibis are demons, the evil forces which are our daily danger. And so they have invented that Chavez may be a danger for humanity and that he's a tyrant and he's a despotic dictator. He won eight elections. It's strange, being a dictator, eight clean elections won by him.
I was an international observer in this plebiscite he did -- I don't remember now, but something like a couple of years ago -- which was quite exceptional in human history. The first time, perhaps, in which a president would say to the people, "Here is my post, my job. If you decide that I'm not a good president, then I'll go out," and people voted to keep him in power. Jimmy Carter was also an international observer. We worked together -- [in] Gaviria, and it was unanimous, the certitude that this was a clean election. Then I have never seen the case of a tyrant being so democratically confirmed so many times. It's strange.
Where does this hate come from? Perhaps -- perhaps, I don't know, because he's a real patriot. I mean, he's taking care of his people in his country. And patriotism nowadays is a privilege of rich countries. If you are the leader of a third world country, then your patriotism would be always suspicious of being populism or terrorism or something -- some other -ism -- I don't know -- terrible ism, they may invent to falsify the love you feel for your own people. (13)
What does this have to do with a Bible Proclamation and a talk about Jesus' character, and what does all this have to do with Colombia? And what does it have to do with us?
I've used these examples from Bolivia and Venezuela to illustrate how our media and leadership have misrepresented South Americans to us, and I want you to get past whatever stereotypes you may have. I invite you to find out more on your own from a variety of sources. Listen to media out of the mainstream for a change, but most of all listen to the voices of the people of the Americas. Ultimately it is up to us, in our role as citizens, if we want the policies of our nations and other institutions to reflect truth and compassion, or to be based on lies and fear.
Taking part in the proclamation service emphasized for me the holiness of God's Word as revealed in scripture and in its relevance across language and cultures seeking spiritual guidance. I was led by Rev. Clarke's talk at the Proclamation Symposium to reconsider the presence of the Word and the revelation of Christ in our stories even now, and to seek Him in the lives of His people and creation. Christ is a guide not only for our individual becoming, but for our collective lives as congregations, peoples and nations. Christ called us to love God and our neighbors. When we look about in the world, who is it that we see showing us the characteristics of the Christ's Spirit within, this Spirit of love? Who are the peacemakers?
Canadians have for some decades prided themselves on an image of Canadian foreign policy which promoted peace. Part of the truth though is that many Canadian government and corporate actions are questionable and suggest some complicity in promoting terrible violence and oppression. In just one apropos example, from the field of "military intelligence", Canadians have sold some of the most detailed terrain maps ever made... with our satellites and data technology.... of Colombia.... to U.S. military intelligence; which in are turn sold or given to government and paramilitary forces in Colombia... and we turn a blind eye as to just what those maps actually get used for... This is just one example only, and we would do well to understand that aid to agents of oppression has been a way of doing business in the Americas for centuries, and unfortunately this history is not over.
In fact the threat of violent police or military action against indigenous peoples is happening now in Canada. Currently at the forefront of national news is the land dispute between the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy) and the Government of Canada. At issue is land near Caledonia, Ontario, regarding which the Haudenosaunee claim Canada has failed to keep its word as expressed in nation to nation treaties. While the current dispute is centered around a parcel of land near Caledonia, Ontario, at issue are the principles of self government and sovereignty for First Nations. While Canada opposes Haudenosaunee determination to seek justice in Caledonia, it is working through the United Nations to limit the self determination of Indigenous Peoples throughout the world. Do these policies and actions reflect the principles for which Jesus died?
(left) by the Indigenous Media Project of the Gonwindua Tayrona Organization (14) (right) Hermana de la Asuncion, 1966
by Gabriel Carvajal (15)
Look again at the photos from the bulletin cover. In the middle-left photo you see a nun, while to the top-right you see a photo of Tayrona people.
The Gonawindua Tayrona are the Kogi, Arhuaco, and Wiwa peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. "The Tairona people formed one of the two principal groups of the Chibcha and were pushed into submarginal regions by the Spanish conquest. The Kogi indigenous people who live in the area today are direct descendants of the Tairona." (16) The Gonawindua Tayrona, like many indigenous peoples regard themselves as both material and spiritual stewards of the earth, not only for themselves, but for future generations.
The colonization of of the Americas by the rich and powerful pushed the indigenous communities into conflict with peasants as both struggled to survive on the margins. Culture and religion came to be used as weapons in this empire building, which divided the poor and oppressed one against the other.
Today the indigenous struggle to protect the land and their life continues and, while previously the church was a party to colonization, much of the contemporary church has become supportive of the struggle for indigenous and working people's rights. As a result of supporting the oppressed and impoverished, its leadership is also being targeted alongside labour, agricultural,and land-reform leaders. You may remember the story related at last week's service of Jesus, a Presbyterian minister in Colombia who has lost a parent and two siblings to death squads and was nearly killed in a village massacre. He continues to work for peace and justice despite the dangers. (17)
So it is what they share despite their cultural differences that I want you to notice in both of these photographs. Both traditions speak of the sacredness of life, and and seek to honor the holy in their prayers and actions. They believe in truth and the sacredness of the word. They believe in caring for God's earth and God's people. Peacemakers. Here is the Spirit of Christ working on earth to bring justice, healing and reconciliation. Christ: alive in God's children, transforming and creating through love.
Listen again to the Word of the Lord from today's reading in Acts 10:44-4
"10:44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.
10:45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,
10:46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said,
10:47 "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"
10:48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days." (18)
Now compare Luke's story from Acts with this brief story told by Eduardo Galeano:
"In the summer of 1972, Carlos Lenkersdorf heard this word for the first time.
"He had been invited to an assembly of Tzetzal Indians in the town of Bachajon, and he did not understand a thing. He was unfamiliar with the language, and to him the heated discussion sounded like some sort of crazy rain.
"The word tik came through the downpour. Everyone said it, repeated it -- tik, tik tik --
and its pitter-patter rose above the torrent of voices. It was an assembly in the key of tik.
"Carlos had been around a lot, and he knew that in all languages I is the word used most often. I. But tik, the word that shines at the heart of the sayings and doings of these Mayan communities, means 'we.'" (19)
Let us join together in prayer for the people of Colombia...
... and we shall finish with this reading from the Gospel according to John, chapter 1, verses 1-14:
1 In the beginning was the one who is called the Word.
The Word was with God and was truly God.
2 From the very beginning the Word was with God.
3 And with this Word, God created all things.
Nothing was made without the Word.
Everything that was created
4 received its life from him,
and his life gave light to everyone.
5 The light keeps shining in the dark,
and darkness has never put it out. [a]
6 God sent a man named John,
7 who came to tell about the light and to lead all people
to have faith.
8 John wasn't that light. He came only to tell about the light.
9 The true light that shines on everyone was coming into the world.
10 The Word was in the world, but no one knew him,
though God had made the world with his Word.
11 He came into his own world, but his own nation did not welcome him.
12 Yet some people accepted him and put their faith in him.
So he gave them the right to be the children of God.
13 They were not God's children by nature or because of any human desires.
God himself was the one who made them his children.
14 The Word became a human being and lived here with us.
We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.
From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us. (20)
Thanks be to God.
Source Material and References:
(1) peaceincolombia.org: http://www.peaceincolombia.org/ (back to text)
(2) DemocracyNow! http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/19/1324216 (back to text)
(3) "The Bible", readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B - 6th Sunday in Easter, 2006: http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/index.htm (back to text)
(4) Atlantic School of Theology: http://astheology.ns.ca/ (back to text)
(5) Scott Barber (BSUC Bulletin, May 21, 2006) http://bsuc.chebucto.org (back to text)
(6) peaceincolombia.org: http://www.peaceincolombia.org (back to text)
(7) Leon Dario Pelaez , Campo Minado at http://www.fotografoscolombianos.com/fotogra/reporteria/rmenu.htm (back to text)
(8) Patricia Bravo Huella Y Memoria (1991) see: http://www.fotografoscolombianos.com/fotogra/destaca/fdestaca.htm (back to text)
(9) Jazmin Gonzalez / 11 a–os - see: Exposicion Fotografica Quien Soy Yo Y Memoria Familiar "Disparando Camaras para la Paz" at http://fotografoscolombianos.com/eventos/fevento.htm (back to text)
(10) Araminta Espitia Hurtado / 11 a–os - see: Exposicion Fotografica Quien Soy Yo Y Memoria Familiar "Disparando C‡maras para la Paz" at http://fotografoscolombianos.com/eventos/fevento.htm
(back to text)
(11) Eduardo Galeaono May 19, 2006 interview on DempcracyNow!: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/19/1324216 (back to text)
(12) Ibid (back to text)
(13) Ibid (also listen to FAIR's "CounterSpin" 9/6/06 episode for another example of media demonization of Chavez available from their archives at http://www.fair.org (back to text)
(14) Indigenous Media Project of the Gonwindua Tayrona Organization http://www.tairona.org (back to text)
(15) Gabriel Carvajal photo: "Hermana de la Asunci—n, 1966" at http://www.fotografoscolombianos.com/fotogra/maestro/fmaestro.htm (back to text)
(16) http://www.crystalinks.com/kogi.html (back to text)
(17) "The Courage that Faith Calls Forth" a sermon by Tom F. Driver, First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, Long Island, October 23, 2005 see: http://www.peaceincolombia.org/presbyterian1.htm (back to text)
(18) "The Bible", The New Revised Standard Version, see http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/BEaster/beaster6.htm#acts (back to text)
(19) Eduardo Galeaono May 19, 2006 interview on DemocracyNow!: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/19/1324216 (back to text)
(20) "The Bible", Contemporary English Version see: http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/?action=getVersionInfo&vid=46 (back to text)
