Central America 2: suffering leads to?

6/13

A touch of beauty in Tegucigalpa

B

I asked to lead worship this morning, because my Nicaraguan friend asked that we join them - the Nicaraguan diaspora-in worship and prayers of solidarity on Thursday or Friday. With of course Thanksgiving for the release of political prisoners and the promise to release the rest. I would like to believe that all our actions of solidarity helped to bring this about but I suspect the threat of the Trump administration for more sanctions had something do with it.

And it’s all in the context of an “amnesty” act that frees those responsible for the murders of protestors  from any accountability and criminalizes further protests. Sigh.

The words of this passage certainly came to  my my mind earlier this year as I watched los Hermanos Mejia in concert and heard the familiar chants “un Pueblo unidos jamas sera vencidos” and “viva Nicaragua Libre” now joined with “ Ortega y Somoza esta la misma cosa”....With the waving of flags and dancing and .....stories from students and people from revolutionary families like Katia Cardenal driven into exile and I think, “ How long go lord, how long does this suffering people have to go through this? Live through this again? "And I look out at a 98 % Nica crowd and realize that before, the audience would be augmented by myriad gringos internacionalistas singing loudly “adelante, el frente Sandinista”.....Overthrowing a right wing dictator is sexy. Forcing out a one time revolutionary turned repressive autocrat, well, you’re on your own.

And then I live through a day like yesterday and realize that Honduras has never had an explosion of hope like the revolution of 1979. When Sandinistas sang Si Nicaragua vencio, El Salvador vencera, y Guatemala prepara ya con fusiles de libertad, nary a word about Honduras. Honduras was never sexy. Honduras is without a doubt a text book testimony to the reality of global predatory capitalism ringing every last ounce of life out of a country....and a people...

You hear stories like I heard last night from everyday Honduran Presbyterians and join in the question “Where is God?” The obvious answer is there...God is there en camino..in the midst of the people...On the journey...by their side. But then, so what? .What does hope even look like here? In the darkest days of apartheid, Archbishop Tutu would smile that all conquering smile of his and say, “ We have already won. The other side just doesn’t realize it yet.” What would that even mean in Honduras?

I hear Paul’s words again:
1Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

And I wonder if I can believe these words. Does suffering always produce persevere despite everything? Doesn’t it also produce desperation, resignation? Does character really grow out of suffering and does hope necessarily follow?


What faith I have says that with the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit, yes. But humility bids me to be silent and listen. And let those with ears to hear, hear.