CPTnet
December 14, 2003
COLOMBIA REFLECTION: Worth more than sparrows

by Irene Erin Kindy

"For I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around
it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it." Psalms 55:9b, 10

"Are not five little birds sold for two coins? But before God not one of
them has been forgotten. Even the hairs of your head are counted. Do not
be afraid, you are worth more than innumerable little sparrows." Luke 12:
6-7.

At the door,"Good morning. Here´s your paper"-- the paper with news of
yesterday´s assassination. Broad daylight, near downtown, a young woman
between 23 and 25 years old, light brown skin, 168 cm tall, long black
hair, wearing light blue shorts, a white blouse and sandals. On Friday, it
was a young man wearing jeans. Both young people shot in the head, more
than once, and left in a heap at the side of a road.

A few days ago, the paper reported that some authorities think the
paramilitaries have chosen to change their tactics, and as a result we´re
seeing more assassinations. Disappearances left no bodies behind and
received too much press so the group decided to begin killing people once
again.

 It´s a deliberate strategy. They want a mother to read about the death of
her son or daughter in the newspaper, "long black hair, light blue shorts,
several shots to the head; the body remains unidentified in the morgue."
Imagine if this was the way you learned your sister or your aunt was dead.

This morning´s mass proclaimed Christ as King. Christ is the King of
Life, despite the very visible powers of death that surround us here in
Barrancabermeja and in each of its neighborhoods. There have been many
assassinations in the past week. "Every death destroys God´s temple and
is a shout up to God," said the priest. We sang, "For the poured out blood,
for our indifference, Lord, have mercy upon us. Forgive us, Lord, teach us
to forgive."

 Teach us to forgive the assassins of our neighbors and family members; to
forgive those who plot deaths that will create less furor than
disappearances and to forgive ourselves for our silence and acceptance of
this reality as normal.

We place our bodies, still living, firmly in the Reign of God. We weep
with those who weep, or for those who no longer can. The hope we have is
touched with the sadness of what we see and live, but we hold on to what we
can, remembering that people are worth much more than sparrows.