April 15th, 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n Tim Schmucker<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Text:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Acts 15:27-32<\/strong><\/p>\n Psalm 118<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Excerpts from lectionary readings \u00a0<\/p>\n \t<\/span>\u2022\t<\/span>Acts 5:27-32<\/p>\n 27When the captain of the temple and the temple police had brought the apostles, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, <\/em>28<\/em><\/span>saying, \u201cWe gave you strict orders not to teach in Jesus\u2019 name\u2026.<\/em>29<\/em><\/span>But Peter and the apostles answered, \u201cWe must obey God rather than any human authority.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \t<\/span>\u2022\t<\/span>Psalm 118<\/p>\n 6With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?<\/em><\/p>\n 7The Lord is on my side to help me; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. \u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n 14The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.<\/em><\/p>\n 24This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.<\/em><\/p>\n 29O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Also used: excerpts from Hebrews Chapters 11-12<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Photo #1 Hector<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hector arrived 2 hours late to our meeting in Bogot\u00e1. Late because he had received yet another death threat that morning. Another one; countless death threats over the last 3 decades. Nevertheless, he started right into describing Colombia\u2019s reality to us. He explained in detail the collusion between multinational corporations and the Colombian elite in maintaining the majority of Colombia\u2019s 44 million people impoverished and displaced \u2026 or dead. He explained how this multi-decade collusion has served to make vast Colombia\u2019s resources \u2013 both people and natural \u2013 completely available for exploitation, for wealth-building of the powerful. How they\u2019ve used blatant robbery and law-breaking, and in recent years, labour union leader assassinations and privatizations, the latter rubber-stamped by their puppets in government. We were captivated listeners; Hector is quite passionate and engaging. Yet, we couldn\u2019t shake the reality that this smiling, fervent man talking to us was running from a death threat. At that very moment.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hector is a Colombian Mennonite.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He went on to describe how this incredible economic injustice and exploitation has been both a cause and an effect of the violence and civil conflict that Colombia is infamous for. You\u2019ve probably heard the numbers before:<\/p>\n \t<\/span>\u2022\t<\/span>3 million displaced people (internal refugees) and 3000 kidnapped people.<\/p>\n \t<\/span>\u2022\t<\/span>At the height of the war several years ago, 30,000 dead yearly.<\/p>\n \t<\/span>\u2022\t<\/span>Numerous illegal armed forces, some more powerful than the official army.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then one of us asked him about his personal story. Thirty years ago Hector was a young economics professor and human rights worker in Barrancabermeja, a city in the centre of a strategic oil producing region. Facing privatization and mass layoffs, the oil workers union went on strike, and was supported by a local \u00a0human rights organization; Hector was a leader in that organization. The local government declared the strike and the human rights organization illegal, and the military took control of the city. The army roamed the streets with orders to capture Hector and his colleagues. They escaped, the workers didn\u2019t back down, and privatization was averted (for then). But when he went back to teaching, in Bogot\u00e1 this time, little did he know that the military\u2019s \u201ccapture\u201d list was still active. He was subsequently apprehended and tortured by the Colombian military, by a general who had graduated from the United States Army’s School of the Americas. Hector was 23 years old then.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hector is a long-term member of Teausaquillo Mennonite Church, my wife Jacqui\u2019s home church. Photo #2 Hector<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now, thirty years later, his hands still tremble, a consequence of the torture. He jumps when someone enters the room too quickly. His piercing, gray-green eyes are at times bloodshot and constantly shifting. Yet, he has a contagious smile and an engaging manner. He\u2019s internationally-known as an astute analyst of Colombia\u2019s social and armed conflict.\u00a0 An economist and expert in peasant and indigenous farming communities, he has been the adviser of the National Council of Indigenous People, and of the National Council of Colombian Peasant Farmers. At the same time, he has had to live much of the last two decades in hiding due to the frequent death threats. Ten years ago he and his family were forced into exile in Spain. In his words:<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “My work is not secret, but I always have to speak as I am today, somewhat covertly. To create a routine is to commi \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hector is our Mennonite brother. He is part of the preaching team at his church, but his preaching schedule is secret and sporatic; sometimes twice in a month, other times 4 months go by without him attending church\u2026.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>We were understandably stunned with the Colombian reality and his story. Then one of us asked: \u201cWhat is your hope for Colombia?\u201d He responded: \u201coh, I don\u2019t have hope, but I have faith.\u201d \u2026. I don\u2019t have hope, but I have faith. <\/strong>Hector\u2019s words have been echoing in my mind ever since. I thought at first that I understood, but the more I\u2019ve reflected on them, the more I realize that Hector knows or rather experiences a spiritual grounding that goes beyond my experience. How can you have faith, but no hope?<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Thinking about Hector\u2019s words \u2013 I don\u2019t have hope, but I have faith \u2013 I\u2019ve been drawn to the NT letter to the Hebrews. Those of you who know me and also know the book of Hebrews may think I\u2019m joking. \u201cSchmucker? Drawn to Hebrews? Ha ha!\u201d \u2026. Go ahead, you can laugh\u2026. Not funny? I guess those of you who know me well, haven\u2019t read the book of Hebrews recently. Let\u2019s just say that with its lofty Christological framework and its salvation language rooted in the Hebraic system of sacrifice, Hebrews isn\u2019t a book that I\u2019ve tried to memorize (or even read much). In addition, it spends 13 long chapters making an argument for the superiority of Jesus\u2019 sacrifice over the OT sacrificial system \u2013 an agenda that I simply don\u2019t relate to.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yet, pondering Hector\u2019s declaration \u2013 I don\u2019t have hope, but I have faith \u2013 I have been drawn to Hebrews, and I think the writer of Hebrews knew something that Hector also knows. Chapter 11, the first verses: \u201cNow faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen\u2026.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0<\/em>Hector\u2019s words become clearer for me in this context. Hope is based on what we know and see. In Spanish the verb for \u201cto hope\u201d and \u201cto expect\u201d is the same word. Hoping has evidence of some kind backing up the hope. It has some semblance of reasonableness. Understanding hope and faith in this way, Hector has no hope for Colombia. There\u2019s no evidence, it\u2019s not reasonable to expect that Colombia\u2019s tragic reality will improve. But he has faith. He has faith. And it\u2019s his faith that grounds him, it\u2019s his faith that has kept him working diligently toward God\u2019s kingdom for these decades in spite of grave personal sacrifice.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFaith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.<\/em>\u201d It\u2019s in his faith that Hector has the courage and conviction to believe that one day, that which he cannot see with human eyes, will come to fruition. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Hector would declare: \u201cI have a faith.\u201d He and King with his \u201cDream\u201d would probably be saying much the same thing. His faith gives Hector the assurance that what he cannot see is worth struggling for; it gives him the conviction of a reality not seen. His faith gives him \u201ca confidence now, when injustice and oppression reign in Colombia, that the promises of God for justice and peace, for mercy and salvation can be trusted. Yet, this faith is more than the inner confidence that the powers of the world that oppress and destroy human life will eventually be overcome and that God\u2019s promises will be fulfilled someday. It\u2019s much more; it is the reality of those promises moving as an advance Kingdom force and operating behind \u201cenemy lines\u201d. A few verses later Hebrews chapter 11 says \u201cAll of these [OT heroes] died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0Hector expects to die without receiving the promises of justice for Colombia. But through his faith he can see that reality \u2013 God\u2019s reality. And he will continue his work in God\u2019s kingdom, with the apostles, \u201cobeying God rather than any human authority.\u201d<\/em> And with the Psalmist, Hector sings: \u201cWith the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me? The Lord is my strength and my might; the Lord has become my salvation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Photo #3 Marina and David<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Two other Colombian Mennonites who walk by faith, obeying God rather than human authorities are Marina and David Bonilla. Their quiet witness to their faith and following Jesus before all others has been a great challenge and inspiration to us. And it\u2019s caused faith to grow in an area of Colombia where there\u2019s little hope; indeed it\u2019s a desolate place where despair is king. Marina and David are Mennonite Brethren church planters. Three years ago or so, their middle class congregation in Northern Bogot\u00e1 supported them as they reached out to a slum on the mountainsides of southern Bogot\u00e1. \u201cCazuc\u00e1\u201d, a huge squatter-type area, is filled with over 50,000 displaced people who\u2019ve fled violence and war in rural parts of Colombia, plus economic refugees \u2013 the most marginalized who cannot live anywhere else.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Photo #4 Cazuc\u00e1<\/span>: It\u2019s overcrowded and impoverished. People there struggle daily to acquire their basic needs. They live in makeshift houses with few basic services. Every year, some homes collapse when rains turn the dusty hillside to mud. Cazuc\u00e1 is constantly expanding to cover the hills along the southern outskirts of Bogot\u00e1, with maze-like roads between simple brick houses and huts made of boards and sheet metal parts. Well-functioning water supplies and sewage systems are non-existent. There is an unbelievable absence of education and health services. For example, there is no hospital in Cazuc\u00e1; residents have to travel out of the area to access medical service. With no public transportation available at night, emergencies have to wait until morning. Regarding education, one third of the children cannot go to school. Add to all this the permeating presence of illegal armed groups that vie for control of the hearts and minds of the youth. Nonconformity or disobedience to the paramilitary or guerrilla usually results in death. Several times a week, the morning greets the residents with young bodies left in the streets.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Into this context of poverty, despair and violence, Marina and David started a church. Photo #5 Marina and David<\/span>. From the outset, they had a holistic vision of meeting spiritual and socio-economic needs. However, what we found so incredibly inspiring and challenging was something more. You see, Marina and David soon realised that to be fully present among the people, to truly walk with them, to authentically do the work of God\u2019s Kingdom church in Cazuc\u00e1 , they couldn\u2019t continue to live in their comfortable, middle-class area of Bogot\u00e1. So they gave up their comf \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 David and Marina lead the Mennonite Brethren Church \u201cEl Progreso\u201d.\u00a0 Integrally joined to the congregation \u2013 both physically in their structure and theologically in their gospel \u2013 is a pre-school for the neediest children of their neighbourhood. Here they accept the most vulnerable children and provide them with loving care, education, and meals. They are expanding their programme one level per year. For example, last year senior kindergarten was the highest level; this year it\u2019s Grade One. Next year they will also offer Grade Two. And so on. (We need to pause here for a 10 second commercial break. The majority of the funding for this school and its growth comes from MCC via \u201cGlobal Families\u201d.) The gospel David and Marina preach on Sunday is vividly seen in their lives seven days a week.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I presented to them the letter that our pastor Gary Harder wrote for us to carry to Colombia. Here\u2019s an excerpt: We have often heard about life in Colombia, and have heard many stories of how you followers of Jesus are courageously living out and testifying to your faith in Jesus and his way of peace. In our church here in Toronto we have often prayed for the churches and the Christians in Colombia. But we also need your prayers so that we will be faithful to what God calls us to live out and witness to.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 David and Marina were touched by the letter and send their love and greetings to us at TUMC. They also asked for prayer regarding a specific personal burden. As you may have noticed, Marina is pregnant; they are expecting their first baby late this spring. Due to a sewage lagoon at the bottom of the hill that the church\/school and their home is on, babies and small children are sick a lot. The lagoon dries and sewage dust fills the air during the windy dry season. They are worried about the health of their baby yet to be born. Do they risk the baby\u2019s health in order to continue the work they feel God has called them to? \u201cPray for us\u201d they ask us.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And again I\u2019m drawn to the book of Hebrews, chapter 12 this time, the well-known \u201cso great a cloud of witnesses\u201d <\/em>\u00a0passage. \u201cTherefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, <\/em>2<\/em><\/span>looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.\u201d <\/em>\u00a0With the example of such witnesses we are enabled to put aside that which hinders us, and with Jesus leading us, we run the race which is building God\u2019s kingdom of justice and mercy.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Marina and David, and Hector too, are a living part of that \u201cgreat cloud of witnesses\u201d; they give us courage to lay aside every weight and run the race, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. We can live with joy in every day that the Lord has made. We don\u2019t have to fear with God on our side. And we have courage to obey God rather than human authorities. While hope may falter, we have faith.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I close with the paraphrased words of that great Baptist preacher, who struggled for justice for the marginalized blacks in the American south 4 and 5 decades ago. This is for all the Hectors, Davids and Marinas of Colombia, indeed for all Colombians.<\/p>\n I Have a Faith (with apologies to Martin Luther King)<\/p>\n I have faith that one day Colombia will rise up and live out the true meaning of its constitution: \u201call persons are born free and equal and shall receive equal treatment from the authorities and enjoy the same rights, freedoms and opportunities without discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n I have faith that one day on the hills of Montes de Maria where so much blood has been shed, that the children of former slaves and the children of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of sister\/brotherhood.<\/p>\n I have faith today.<\/p>\n I have faith that one day even the province of C\u00f3rdoba, a province sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of justice and dignity.<\/p>\n I have faith that one day, in Magdalena Media, and in Sucre, and in Putumayo, with their vicious paramilitaries enforcing the will of the elite and the corporations; one day right there, poor kids of all skin colours (whether black or white or indigenous or mixed) will be able to join hands with the children of the elite families and with the children of the commanders of the armed groups, join hands as sisters and brothers.<\/p>\n I have faith today.<\/p>\n I have faith that one day in Cazuc\u00e1 every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all Colombians shall see it together.<\/p>\n I have faith today! Amen and amen!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Followers in a Dangerous Time: Colombian Mennonites Living Their Faith April 15th, 2007 Tim Schmucker \u00a0 Text:\u00a0\u00a0 Acts 15:27-32 Psalm 118 \u00a0 Excerpts from lectionary readings \u00a0 \u2022 Acts 5:27-32 27When the captain of the temple and the temple police had brought the apostles, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, 28saying, \u201cWe gave you strict orders not to teach in Jesus\u2019 name\u2026.29But Peter and the apostles answered, \u201cWe must obey God rather than any…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons-a-worship-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nt suicide. I have to make my appointments on short notice and only with people who are trustworthy. I don’t sleep in the same bed two nights in a row. I used to teach Sunday school, but now I can’t attend church much. For the past number of years, the government and paramilitaries are daily trying to figure out how to kill me.<\/p>\n
\norts and security, their nice apartment and solid jobs, and moved to Cazuc\u00e1. Yes, they moved to this zone of despair and violence, of makeshift houses and few basic services. Umm, sounds like \u201cAnd the Word became flesh and lived among us\u2026.\u201d But that would be another sermon.<\/p>\n