The Lesson of Archbishop Romero

The Rev. Lynn Oldham Robinett

This past Friday marked the anniversary of the death of a man by the name of Oscar Romero. Some of you may know who he was. Others of you may not. In the United States he is barely known, but to the people of El Salvador, he was and is the symbol of all that is good and all that is wrong. Oscar Romero was the Archbishop of El Salvador at the beginning of the civil war in his country. Because he spoke out in defense of the poor who were being murdered, tortured, and inhumanely treated, he was murdered. He was murdered by an assassins bullet as he celebrated the Eucharist the day after he called on all those in the army to throw down their weapons and stop killing their brothers and sisters.

Oscar Romero was a prophet. He was a prophet because he spoke God's truth in a world that refused to hear it. El Salvador, his homeland was a world of injustice, degradation, and poverty. His word was authentic, illuminating the reality of El Salvador and disclosing God's will within it. It is a word that speaks to us still today in a country that played a large role in what was happening in El Salvador at the time of his death. It isn't often that someone who commanded the audience that he did speaks out to those who are responsible for the injustice and oppression of a people. But such is the role of a prophet.

From the Old Testament tradition, the prophet is one who reveals the salvation story of God within a particular moment in history, one who unmasks the falsehoods of the society, of religious leaders, of political leaders, one who announces where God's saving action is taking place. It is seldom a comforting work to the complacent, but a work of great consolation to the oppressed, the poor, the victims of injustice, the humble, the faithful. A prophet is a person of great moral insight and spiritual wisdom, a person who can empty him or herself of ego and take on the "mind" of God, who is able to discern God's will within the specific historical context - as did the Old Testament prophets as they revealed the unfolding of God's will in the liberation story of the people of Israel. The prophet is one who then pronounces this word no matter what the consequences, even when trembling with fear - as Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Oscar Romero.

Romero was a prophet in an El Salvador that was sinking into civil war; where repression on the part of the government had become brutal; where all opposition was being crushed, including those expressions within the church that had taken up the cause of the poor. In an El Salvador where the economy was dominated by a few rich families, and the masses of poor were the servants of their economy of self-enrichment. In an El Salvador where that economy and decades of military government was backed by the United States which was again proving itself willing to aid in the crushing of rebellion with military aid, logistical and strategic counterinsurgency support and political support despite the raging human rights crisis.

Romero, as with many of those whom God calls to do God's work, was a reluctant prophet. He was a quiet studious man who did not believe that the church should be politically involved with revolutionary ideas that alienated the wealthier members of society. In fact, he was named as Archbishop of El Salvador, largely because he was non-confrontational. He was described as both a friend of the poor and a friend of the rich. He would preach to the rich that they should love the poor, and to the poor he would preach that they should love God and that God knew that they were last in line, but that they would be rewarded in heaven. He struggled to maintain a balance between the priests desire to educate the poor and speak out against the injustice of their lives and maintaining the status quo. While he was bishop, he remained silent about the injustices he heard from the priests who were working with the poor because he didn't want to rock the boat.

All that changed though a month after his consecration when the man whom he had chosen to be the master of ceremonies at his consecration, and also a good friend, was murdered because he had spoken one too many times about the liberating freedom that comes with practicing one's faith in Jesus Christ. This event was the catalyst for the transformation of Archbishop Romero. In his sermons, pastoral letters, public addresses and interviews he began to speak out against the repression and injustice that had infected his country. No longer did he ignore the truth, but he spoke it so loudly, that it eventually caused him to be killed. He changed from a man giving alms from the rich to the poor, generous in his charity, to a fierce defender of the poor's just cause and denouncer of the injustice that brought about their suffering - from a fearful man, frightened of change, frightened of troubling consequences, to the voice of the voiceless, the man who stood before his country and the world, and even in the face of violent, vicious death threats, ordered the military to end the repression.

From this specific time and place came a word with universal implications - precisely because it is so concretely rooted. Romero spoke God's word to the thousands of people who were suffering and to those few in power who benefited from the repression of the many. He challenged those in our country who had the power to stop sending the millions of dollars to a government that was killing its people. He wrote a letter to then President Jimmy Carter asking for him to stop sending military aid to El Salvador. He did all in his power to share the Gospel founded on the basis of love to those who needed it most. And for this he was killed. Romero challenges all of us today to work for the justice of God within the specific context of our nation, our hemisphere, and our world. It is not a challenge that can not be taken lightly. The truth of his words speaks loud and clear to all who believe in the Gospels.

He once said, "Let's not meditate on a word that's disincarnated from reality. It's very easy to preach a gospel that's the same here in El Salvador as it would be in Guatemala, or in Africa. Of course, it's the same gospel, just as it's the same sun that brightens the whole world. But just as the sunlight turns into flowers or fruits, according to the needs of the nature that receives it, so God's word has to be incarnated in reality."

Romero's challenge is not one that is popular for preachers to preach from their pulpit because it is not a soothing one to the status quo. It calls for a prophetic witness to the evils of society, of which all of us are a part. We live in one of the richest counties in the nation. What do you think Romero would say to us? Our society is increasingly becoming one where the income gap between the rich and poor, the haves and have nots, is only becoming greater and greater. It is in this context that we are called to search for the Gospel and speak its truth. Many of us do so on an individual basis, donating our time, money and energy to causes that we consider just. But communally, as a culture, where the effect of our faith would have the most effect as an agent of change, we do relatively little. I have heard over and over again since I arrived, how socially active St. Paul's is, and I don't doubt the sincerity of any of the members of St. Paul's in seeking social justice, but as a people of faith, we have a long way to go to enact change. The action that St. Paul's took a couple of years ago, when St. Vincent's Dining room was to be shut down shows us how powerful we can be. It is a difference between charity, giving money because we have it to give, and organizing to fight an injustice that is occurring.

Oscar Romero calls all of us to be faithful to the Gospel and work for the justice of all human beings within our own context. It is a difficult task, but one that is increasingly necessary when the gap between rich and poor in this country, in this county continues to increase. The poor are not the only victims, one need only to look at the stress our children are under to perform so that they can succeed in life to realize that all people are suffering. I would like to end with a prayer that Oscar Romero wrote and which I believe speaks loudly to all of us here.

Prophets of a Future Not Our Own -- by Oscar Romero

It helps, now and then, to step back
      and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
      it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
      the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
      which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
      No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
      No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
      No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
      We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
      We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything
      and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
      and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
      an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,
      but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
      ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen.

With thanks to the Religious Task Force on Central America and Mexico.