New Jerusalem

Portion of a Sermon led by Krista Loewen and David Epp in the Wildwood Mennonite Church, in Canada. It was inspired on their experience in one of our Learning tours in Guatemala and El Salvador, where they accompanied students of the Rosthern Junior Collegiate. Krista and David had visited Guatemala many times in the past. David Epp is a former SALTer, and served in the Community of Santiago Atitlán in 2013-2014.

Picture taken by: Anna Yoder

When traveling in Guatemala one of the first things that you notice is the beautiful weaving and traditional fabric. Each community weaves their story into their clothing. For example, A huipil from Santiago Atitlan features white stripes which represent blessings from God and the red represents the blood shed during the conquest and more recently the civil war. The birds show their ongoing relationship with the land as caretakers and stewards. Each time the people of Santiago Atitlan weave a new piece of clothing their history comes to life and a common story is told within the strings of the fabric.

In other words, by donning these special garments citizens of Santiago Atitlan are pledging allegiance to the continuation of their culture.

The backstrap looms used to weave these pieces are complex and it is essential that each tiny thread is in the right place, otherwise the final vision is contaminated.
This painstaking detail can seem futile at times since it is hard to imagine what the final piece will look like. But,the weaver has hope and faith in the pattern ,and beauty emerges. Beauty overflows in Guatemala as a result of this tapestry.

Just as the people of Santiago Atitlan are reminded of their past and future by wearing their traditional clothes, so too are we reminded of our place in the historical and ongoing construction of God’s kingdom.

In April, as we passed through customs from Guatemala, our MCC guide encouraged us to play a culturally--‐based eye--‐spy game. Our task was to count how many times we could find a mural or artistic likeness of former Archbishop Oscar Romero. It didn't take long for the game to end, though not because it is difficult to find Romero's face. In fact, He is everywhere! Romero can be found on every Street corner, every small business sign, and on the sides of seemingly every church.

Oscar Romero was born into humble conditions in Eastern El Salvador. He entered
Seminary at a young age and demonstrated a proficiency in academics and an affinity for pastoral work. When he was appointed as Archbishop of El Salvador in
1977 he quickly became an advocate for the poor and dispossessed.

At the time, much like now, El Salvador was characterized by a complex history of inequality and violence. For decades the rural poor had been increasingly marginalized within an economy in which the top 1% controlled 42% of the tillable land, while the bottom 60% controlled 0.

These conditions led to protests and eventually to an extremely violent civil war and death squads roamed the countryside executing at will.
Romero stood within this context as one of the loudest voices calling for an end to the violence and in 1980 was assassinated, just a day after delivering a sermon in which he called on government soldiers, as Christians, to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.
Although the civil war ended in the1990s, Income inequality still exists.
By painting Romero´s face on the side of  buildings, people are affirming their faith in God’s visión for justice and peace.
In El Salvador, one of the most striking moments was our joint worship service with the Disciples of Christ Baptist church members. The congregants live in La Linea, an area with high rates of violence and controlled by gangs. The congregants currently do not own their land and could be displaced at anytime.
As a church they purchased a land for them and are in the process of restoring it to livable conditions. I can’t help but see God working through this farm that they called ¨New Canaan¨ vocationally in order to build the Kingdom on Earth, rather than creating an elaborate heaven for us to escape to.
These examples do not exist in a vacuum but fit in with the history of God’s people, like the huipiles, and point us towards our future in God’s kingdom.

Join in and be amazed at your part in the tapestry.


To read the complete sermon:
http://www.wildwoodmennonite.org/currently/a-recent-sermon/187-august-30-considering-the-end-of-the-story-new-jerusalem