John 17: 20 to end
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit …
‘The Peace Corps left today and my heart sank low. The
danger is extreme and they were right to leave. … Now I
must assess my own position, because I am not up for
suicide. Several times I have decided to leave El Salvador.
I almost could, except for the children, the poor, bruised
victims of this insanity. Who would care for them? Whose
heart could be so staunch as to favor the reasonable thing
in a sea of their tears and loneliness? Not mine, dear
friend, not mine.’
These are the words of a young American woman
called Jean Donovan written from the city of San
Salvador to her friend in the US in November 1980.
Prior to travelling to El Salvador, Jean spent a year
as an exchange student at my university in Ireland.
In Cork she met a priest who had been working
abroad and when she finished her education Jean
travelled to El Salvador to work as a lay missionary.
Alongside other women and men she provided
food, transportation and medical care to those who
had fallen foul of the ruling military regime, many
of whom were then ‘disappeared’ and murdered.
On 2 December 1980, Jean and three other lay
missionaries died a brutal, violent death at the
hands of the military on the roadside in El Salvador
while trying to help refugees. A documentary film
on her life called Roses in December was made in
1982, and her story (slightly adapted) features in the
film Salvador by Oliver Stone. She was a source of
great inspiration to students in my university who
cared about the plight of the oppressed around the
world.
Listen to her words again – written when she knew
that her actions could be seen as challenging the
military government, could mean her death, in such
an unstable violent place and time –
Who would care for them? Whose heart could be so
staunch as to favor the reasonable thing in a sea of their
tears and loneliness? Not mine, dear friend, not mine.’
Jean had entered into a relationship of love and
care for the people of El Salvador, she could not
leave them in their fear and pain. Her relationship
was both sacrificial and entwined with others, it
was an example of the love that Jesus speaks of in
the Gospel today, as he seeks to assure his followers
of the relational nature of the love he has for them.
A love that he believes is best expressed in
reminding them how closely, how deeply intimate his
relationship is with the Father, how precious, how
close his relationship is with them and therefore by
logical reasoning, how they too have life in the
Father.
In Jesus’s words there is an acknowledgement of
the central importance of the love that the Father
has for the Son and the Son for the Father. This is
life in all its glorious beauty, its abundance – it
glorifies him and the Father. It is life in all its
fullness. The disciples are allowed to hear this
conversation between Father and Son to remind
them—to confirm to them—that God is not
abandoning them in the mystery of the Ascension.
On the contrary, they too are in an unique
relationship – as Jesus says ‘I have given them the
glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are
one. I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought
to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent
me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
But we would be mistaken to view this love in a
‘soppy, mushy’ way. This is the love that asks for
commitment this is the love that calls us, like Jean,
to open our eyes to the terrible lack of love in our
world. Jesus knows that it will not be easy, that the
world rejected him and often rejects us. That’s why
he asks the Father to protect us, to guide us to
make the right decisions, to choose the right ways
to act. These actions will sometimes be difficult, or
even hazardous. Standing up for what is right is
always a challenge. And sometimes the sacrifice is
very great. Jean Donovan knew this—rejecting the
‘reasonable thing’—that is to leave El Salvador
when the Peace Corps left.
Loving as the Father loves the Son and the Son
loves the Father may lead us to uncomfortable
places – albeit probably not as personally dangerous
as Jean Donovan. But there may be a time—at
work, in friendships, even in family relationships—
where we might have to name corruption, or unveil
where there is inequality. It certainly means that
throughout our lives we need to look carefully at
what we do and say, hold it up, turn it around, and
examine it in the light of the love of G0d in Christ
Jesus.
And if you sometimes wonder what difference you
might make to this world, when you hear of
conflict, selfishness or cruelty, remember that there
are many roses in December. Many people who
work and strive for good, following in the footsteps
of people like Jean Donovan. Many people who
remember that the precious relationship of love
between Father Son and Holy Spirit is also
extended to us – we can enter that dance.
As Jesus says: I have given them the glory that you gave
me, that they may be one as we are one..Then the world
will know that you sent me and have loved them even as
you have loved me.
‘The Peace Corps left today and my heart sank low. Who
would care for them? Whose heart could be so staunch as
to favor the reasonable thing in a sea of their tears and
loneliness? Not mine, dear friend, not mine.’
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
Amen