Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ, will live like the grains of wheat that dies. It only apparently dies. If it were not to die, it would remain a solitary grain. The harvest comes because of the grain that dies. We know that every effort to improve society, above all when society is so full of injustice and sin, is an effort that God blesses; that God wants; that God demands of us.
Prophetic words indeed, for they were spoken by Oscar Romero shortly before he was murdered on 24th March 1980.
The reasons for his assassination are well known. Romero had been publicly critical of the powerful people who dominated the El Salvadoran government, and of their military accomplices who tortured and murdered the civilians - human rights activists, teachers, nuns, and priests - who dared to challenge them. He took the side of the poor, defending them, working with them, advocating for them, and his weekly broadcasts in which he read out the names of people who had been killed, earned him the title ‘Voice of the Voiceless’
As he mirrors Christ’s word in the parable of the wheat, Romero recognizes that his efforts are indeed blessed by God, but that they come at a price. This price may be death, but it is in death that new life is born. That has certainly been the case for Romero whose call to solidarity with the poor and the marginalized is even more powerful today than it was in his lifetime. He stands as an inspiration to members of the Church all over the world who work for peace and for justice and who struggle to bring about a church for the poor.
That this should be the case is even more surprising when one considers that for most of his life Romero was a conservative. When he was appointed Archbishop he was considered a safe choice, one who would not upset the status quo. All this changed when his friend Rutilio Grande, a Jesuit who worked with the poor and a personal friend of Romero, was murdered by the government. One might consider this another grain of wheat, for from then onwards Romero could no longer remain silent about the injustices happening around him.
In a three year ministry, not unlike Christ’s, Romero reminded us that our faith is not, or should not be, a complacent and comfortable one. We are called to read the signs of the times and be attentive to the world around us so that we can truly work for the kingdom. (1)
A church that does not provoke crisis, a gospel that does not disturb, a word of God that does not rankle, a word of God that does not touch the concrete sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — what kind of gospel is that?” (Oscar Romero)
(1) Gaudium et Spes, 1965. Parag 4.