BLOG 2/8/15. ARCHBISHOP OSCAR ROMERO, ST. TELEMACHUS, … AND US

BLOG 2/8/15. OSCAR ROMERO, ST. TELEMACHUS, … AND US

I, for one, have been rejoicing that this present Pope Francis has determined to beatify the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. I have been so blessed by Romero’s example. Romero stands in a long line of faithful followers of Christ who recognized and exposed the deeply entrenched forces of darkness—especially those in high places. Archbishop Romero, as a prominent public figure in his Central American country, began his tenure in full support of the status quo in that nation, but then began to see how ultimately it was criminally controlled by forces that were quite oppressive to the rank and file, especially the poor, of that nation, and so began to speak out publicly. The angered right-wing powers, thereupon, had him assassinated by a sniper as he was celebrating the mass in a local chapel. For those of us in the United States, if we are into research, this has connections to the shenanigans of our own State Department which provided support for such right-wing forces in those days of the cold war, when anything a shade left of center was part of the communist threat.

In the fifth century, according to the somewhat shadowy records, there was a similar martyr, a monk, by the name of Telemachus, who on a visit to (maybe) Rome visited the coliseum and was watching the bloody spectacle of gladiators killing each other, all of which was a very popular form of entertainment with the masses. Telemachus was so offended by the carnage, that (as the story is passed down) he jumped down onto field and protested and commanded that it all stop in the name of humanity. The command was given by an official and he was slain on the spot, stabbed and killed. But the emperor was so moved by the monk’s compassion that he commanded that the gladiatorial contests be suspended, and they did end on that day.

Every generation, and every particular neighborhood faces similar decisions. Injustices and human cruelty are present in so many subtle and not-so-subtle forms. Paul concluded his letter to the Ephesians with the warning that God’s people must be careful to put on the whole armor of God because we are ever in a confrontation, he says, not with flesh and blood “but against rulers, against authorities, against cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

It is ever our proclivity to be conformed to all of the subtle expressions of this darkness in our own location, and to accept the status quo. But we, who are followers of Christ, are always a counter-cultural people because we have been called into God’s New Creation, into God’s New Humanity, which transcends the controlling forces. In my lifetime I have watched this on the larger plane what with civil rights and racial equality, with our nation’s tendency to get involved in tragic military conflicts. More subtle at the moment are economic injustice, and indifference to our stewardship of the environment, for starts. The disparity between the controlling wealthy and those struggling to survive, who are the huge majority, would seem to be one of those. But one can be quietly martyred if one speaks out.

Face it: it is not ever really safe to be a child of the light in the midst of malignant darkness, but we dare not ignore it. We are called to be witnesses and advocates of God’s design just as Oscar Romero, St. Telemachus, and a huge multitude have been over the centuries. We overcome by the word of our testimony, the blood of the Lamb, even if it costs us our lives (Rev. 12:11). Amen!

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About rthenderson

Sixty years a pastor-teacher within the Presbyterian Church. Author of several books, the latest of which are a trilogy on missional ecclesiology: ENCHANTED COMMUNITY: JOURNEY INTO THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH, then, REFOUNDING THE CHURCH FROM THE UNDERSIDE, then THE CHURCH AND THE RELENTLESS DARKNESS. Previous to this trilogy was A DOOR OF HOPE: SPIRITUAL CONFLICT IN PASTORAL MINISTRY, and SUBVERSIVE JESUS, RADICAL FAITH. I am a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, a graduate of Davidson College, then of Columbia and Westminster Theological Seminaries.
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