In Pamplona Alta, a desperately impoverished barrio on the outskirts of Lima, the coordinators of the women's club told the story of telling the story. In rings of poverty around the city live vast communities of the anawim, the unforgettable forgotten ones who have eked out a semblance of existence by invading unused land and claiming the right to stay put. In 20 years some have managed to brick in their original straw houses -- slowly scrimping together enough to buy one brick at a time and finally topping the one-room house with a rainproof roof.
Now the few open corners in the barrio are being invaded by a new wave of refugees -- refugees from the violence of Left and Right in the countryside (fleeing, sadly, into the violence of Left and Right in the sprawling city) and refugees from deepening poverty. The "older" residents of Pamplona Alta are watching the possibility for a decent existence slip away. Even the life-saving common gardens, carefully tended with sparse water (it is turned on only every eighth day) are potential shack-building sites.
In Peru, survival itself is in question every day, and so, understandably, the more-settled impoverished ones feel threatened as they are called upon to share, to divide again the few and inadequate services they have. They know that soon they will all have less: less land, less food, less water, less opportunity to squeeze onto already packed buses, less opportunity for even the minimal health care, less possibility of finding work.
There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the Earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
-- Luke 21:25-26
In response to their fear, these strong and creative women of Pamplona Alta arranged a re-enactment of their own land invasion for their families and themselves -- a retelling of their own story so that, remembering their own homelessness, they could better understand the plight of the recently arrived and arriving; so that by claiming their own story, they could participate in shaping a new and better one.
Once again the story, our story, is told -- of hope, hope against hope; of promise fulfilled, to be uniquely fulfilled -- that we too might remember who we are and move in hope through the memory toward new life. Set into the grand drama of creation, re-creation, covenant, renewed covenant, of creation out of chaos, re-creation after the Fall -- even in the face of a "new world order," of overwhelming evil and brokenness -- is a story of the already and the not yet, of the New Creation.
Slowly, almost ploddingly, its threads are woven together: Genesis ... Exodus ... the Laws ... Ruth and the Kings, Judith, Esther, and Job, patient Job ... Songs and Psalms, Proverbs and Wisdom. Slowly the story emerges -- journeys of a people chosen for love, thunderously interrupted by outrageous prophecy!
First Sunday of Advent: December 1
Signs of the Times
Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36
Terrifying, hope-filled seeds, planted in the fertile consciousness of a people, promise exile, then speak from it, but always, always nourishing the expectation, the promise: "I will cause a righteous branch to spring forth for David, who will execute justice and righteousness in the land" (Jeremiah 33:15). The promise of faithful relationship ("I will be your God and you will be my people") becomes the promise of a Faithful One who will announce, in fact will effect, the fulfillment of the promise, and whose own characteristics will define the New Creation.
The promise of a savior begins to shape the expectations of the people ("To you, O God, I lift up my soul," Psalm 25:1), and they peer intently into the signs of the times:
Look at the fig tree and all the trees, as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know the realm of God is near.
-- Luke 21:29-31
The signs of the times in these days overwhelm. The disintegration of the Soviet Union, vast changes in Eastern Europe, the tragic aftermath of the Persian Gulf war, realignment of economic blocs, the advance of free market capitalism, deepening poverty, ecological devastation. Signs of a world "in exile" exact our engagement lest the forces of evil be allowed to script our story all the way to the end.
Second Sunday of Advent: December 8
Partnership in the Approaching Miracle
Baruch 5:1-9; Psalm 126; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6
Theological reflection on the signs of the times and careful shaping of a transformative strategy may give us clues about the ongoing and approaching insertion of the divine Human One in our story. The promised time of redemption approaches and our active participation in the process is underscored: "Prepare the way of the Lord. Make the pathways of the Lord straight" (Luke 3:4).
John the Baptist (through the evangelist Luke) and Paul in his letter to the Philippians bring definition to our role in moving already redeemed reality toward the fulfillment of God's plan. "Ripening the harvest of justice" -- participation in the process of human liberation from oppressive social, political, and economic structures and systems -- is, in the words of Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutierrez, "an obligatory and privileged locus for Christian life and reflection."
Third Sunday of Advent: December 15
Good News
Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-13; Luke 3:7-18
Contained in this task of "ripening" is John's call to repentance and reparation. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick: "Let anyone who has two coats share with a person who has none; and let anyone who has food do likewise" (Luke 3:10).
But, perhaps of greater import, do so as a society. Cancel the debt (which has already been paid) and bring justice into the global marketplace: "Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to John, 'Teacher, what shall we do?' And he said to them, 'Collect no more than is appointed you'" (Luke 3:12-13).
Release prisoners of conscience, dismantle the war machine, make reparations for imperialistic and oppressive military adventures waged against the accusation of "communist threat" or in the name of "democracy": "Soldiers also asked him, 'And we, what shall we do?' And John said to them, 'Rob no one by violence or by false accusation' " (Luke 3:14).
And this, John promises, as do Zephaniah, Isaiah, and Paul, will bring you great cause for rejoicing and the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Fourth Sunday of Advent: December 22
Promise Fulfilled
Micah 5:2-4; Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-55
As the day for this vast celebration nears, the magnitude of promise fulfilled begins to dawn. The Christ comes to do no less than to upturn the old order and initiate the new. The great self-gift of God reaches out and touches the human -- becomes one with the human -- in order that the lowly may be exalted: That the mothers of Iraq may find solace; the impoverished of Peru may have just access to the necessities of life; the blacks of South Africa may know justice; the war-weary communities of El Salvador may find true peace; the earth may be healed.
And we reach out to meet the divine, taking part in and celebrating finally the life-bearer's arrival that fills all of us who are hungry with good things: "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for the one who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is God's name ... God has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; God has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich empty away" (Luke 1:48-49, 52-53).
Marie Dennis Grosso was associate for Latin America for the Maryknoll Society Justice and Peace Office, national chair of Pax Christi USA, and a member of Assisi Community in Washington, DC when this article appeared.
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