Sacrifices

Archbishop Oscar Romero

Ever since the first person challenged the world to look beyond their own selves and become selfless there has been violent opposition from those who are comfortable looking after themselves alone. This has often meant that the people who have made the biggest impressions upon history and tried to change the world even at a local level have met angry and often violent opposition. Why is this often the case? Fear is the answer. People fear change and fear anything that challenges their comfortable world view. When the great King Herod heard of the possible birth of a Messiah he was so terrified that he might be overthrown that he not only needed to know where this baby was to be born but also needed to kill all of the children born in the area. Archbishop Oscar Romero challenged the greed of the upper class in El Salvador and was assassinated for merely the words that came from his mouth. The same is true of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X towards the end of his life when he turned away from violence and preached peaceful equality. So the fact that all of us must face is that to seek peace and challenge the world to break away from the commercial self centred ways it has become used to, including our own ways, we will face angry and quite often violent opposition. We must all be prepared for this, but know that it is a part of the journey towards peace and justice and that many have walked this path before us.

There is a wonderful saying; “think globally and act locally”. We cannot speak of world peace when we ourselves are fighting with or holding a grudge against somebody. This is why it is extremely important that we bring to life this call to justice and peace in our own lives. I have often been angered while driving to work by aggressive drivers and it is in these small things, the local things, that we can begin this process of peace. I have found it hard but often, rather than honking the horn and abusing the driver who has cut me off I have slowed down and allowed them to pass. Nothing good can come from the abuse. So it is that in our lives we have to think locally and treat each person we encounter as family. I realise how cliché this sounds but from the littlest of movements larger things can grow.