Chapter 5: Homily for a community of faith and learning

I want to focus here on Central American University. Our host was the Vice Rector of the University, a Jesuit priest named Ignacio Martín-Baró. Father Martín-Baró was a soft-spoken scholar with special interests in mental health and human rights. He was a courageous advocate for the poor and oppressed – speaking frequently in El Salvador and throughout the world, and writing extensively. But most often he brought to bear pressure for positive change behind the scenes, and sought to provide the skills and tools for making change largely through the University curriculum and classes.

It was too much for the powerful oligarchy in El Salvador. The year after our visit a quasi-military death squad murdered Father Martín-Baró, his housekeeper and her daughter, and five other Jesuit priests on the faculty. There were widespread international expressions of outrage. But there was very little change in U.S. policy, a policy that was supportive of the repressive regime there. In truth, the Salvadoran government likely could not have survived without our substantial financial assistance.

It appears that Father Martín-Baró may have had something of a premonition of his fate. He knew very well the difference in context between university life in El Salvador and in the U.S. He once commented: "In your country," Ignacio Martín-Baró remarked to a North American colleague, "it’s publish or perish. In ours, it’s publish and perish."

I have known, ever so briefly, a martyr. I wish it were not true but, given the truth, I am grateful that his life touched mine. Two different worlds: he and I lived in two different worlds. He knew mine much better than I knew his. He knew about the ivory towers and ivied halls that North American academics inhabit. Yet he was not bitter about my advantage and his disadvantage. Rather he made a quiet case for my finding ways to be more supportive of the people he served, the people for whom he ultimately gave his life.

Response: Where is your Antioch?

Where is your Antioch, your community of faith and learning? Is it dead or dying? Is it alive and growing? Before you can figure out where your Antioch is, you need to know what an Antioch is. From the description in Acts it sounds like:
- Antioch is a community of faith.
- Antioch is a community committed to hear God’s calling.
- Antioch is a community with an outward focus.
Where is your Antioch? Do they listen to your doubts and fears? Are they trying to hear God’s call? Are they going out into the world? Do they challenge you to leave your comfort zone?

Chapter 5: Homily for a community of faith and learning (pdf)