On a steamy August morning our bus bumped along the narrow road that snaked through the lush Salvadoran hills. Enroute to the Cathedral in San Salvador, we were going to see the sarcophagus of (then) Archbishop (now) Saint Oscar Romero.
It was past the time for morning mass and we expected to find an empty sanctuary and plaza. Instead, we were met by at least 200 women walking in a somber circle around the plaza. Each woman held a photo in a black frame. These were the Mothers of the Disappeared. They gathered every Sunday morning to remember their husbands, brothers and sons who had been “disappeared” by the government. In the volatile 1980’s El Salvador was war torn, violent and politically unstable. Anyone who mounted resistance was often “disappeared,” never to return. It was chilling to think how much trauma and sorrow was gathered there in the plaza that day. It was mirrored in the eyes of the women gathered, embodied in the heaviness they carried in their frame. It was heartbreak and anger beyond words.
I never thought it could happen here. I was wrong.
Anyone with black or brown skin is at risk of being rounded up by the occupant’s goon squad and shipped off to places unknown. Some end up at the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador, some are sent to American detention centers far from home. People are held for an indeterminate time. They are denied due process and not allowed to contact their families. To date, over 1,000 people are unaccounted for. Their families have no idea where they are and the goon squad poohbahs are unwilling to share any information. Some of the detained are American citizens. Let that sink in.
Disappearing people is a tactic of an oppressive regime that aims at intimidating, terrorizing and controlling a specific “undesirable” population. In this regime that means anyone who is not white, male and straight.
The constitution states that it is illegal to send people to countries/prisons where they will be tortured. The constitution also says that the government cannot use cruelty on any person under any circumstance or status. That’s a joke, because such abuse is happening every day. And all this comes for the bargain price of six million dollars to date (this includes deportation flights and detention centers).
In biblical times, dissent was crushed by Roman authorities. There was no tolerance for disagreement in any way. First century Jews chafed under the Roman occupation and struggled to hold on to their customs and traditions in a secular, repressive regime. In 66-70 CE the Jews mounted a strong rebellion against Roman rule. Rome laid siege to the temple, destroyed it and ransacked its sacred relics. The Jews fled into what came to be known as the Diaspora. The bloodiest battle came to Josephus and his men at Jotapata. In that conflict, 40,000 Jews were killed.
Repressive regimes throughout history have the same formula. Select a population and then intimidate them through threats, manipulation, control and fear mongering. The selected population then becomes an example to others in order to extend the threats and control.
The Jews and the early Christians were passionate about holding on to their faith and emerging traditions. There was only one God, and it was not affiliated with Rome. Their world view and values were defined by their relationship with God and the communities that bore God’s name.
We would do well to emulate their commitments. We, who profess the name of Jesus Christ, are bound to an ethic, a philosophy and faith that recognizes God as the only Sovereign. All people created in the image of God and we are commanded to love and embody justice. Micah 6:4 asks the question, “What does the Lord require?” The answer is, “to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.”
As we slide further down the road to fascism, the control and manipulation grow stronger. Those who criticize the government are branded domestic terrorists, the radical left and un-American to name a few. As people of faith however, we answer to a different authority and bow to a different master. It was not easy for the Jews and early Christians to hold fast to faith when they were persecuted, abused and put to death. It will not be easy for us either.
We have the witness of the faithful who have gone before us, our Jewish and Christian forbears in every century who have held fast to the faith. They held to the rule of love, the work of peacemaking and the demands of justice. May we be encouraged by their witness, strengthened by their resolve and grounded in the voices that have stood for the poor and dispossessed in every age. The poor and dispossessed in this age are counting on us.
Resources
Strauss, Barry; Jews vs. Rome
Wordonfire.org
National Immigration Law Center
PBS
The Irreverent Reverend 