The Day of the Cry, El Dia del Grito
Sep 15, 2009
Rev. Dr. Eliseo Perez-Alvarez
The Day of the Cry, El Día del Grito
John 5. 25-36
September is the Latino heritage month perhaps because during this month one Caribbean and eight Latin American countries conquered their freedom from the empires of Portugal and Spain. Brazil on the 7th; Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Mexico on the 15th; Chile on the 18th and The Cry of Lares in Puerto Rico on the 23rd which, in terms of independence, is still not there yet!
Since USA has imported massive laborers from Mexico, Mexicans run the risk of monopolizing the term Latino. For instance, in some places Puertorricans are considered Mexicans, but with papers! Having confessing that sin and due to the fact that I only have 12 minutes, allow me to meditate on September 15, the Day of the Cry for freedom in Mexico.
I. The Cry, 28.
The priest, theologian and philosopher Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte was the one whose cry is the landmark of Mexican independence from 300 years of Spain's oppression. Hidalgo's cry is not like the Boston Tea Party event, but rather the USA 4th of July.
The gospel for this morning portrays something similar. Jesus is in the Temple of Jerusalem during the Feast of the Tabernacles, which also reflects the freedom from Egyptian yoke, although after the exile, this celebration points towards the eschatological liberation as well.
Hidalgo means "hijo de alguien" son of somebody, that is, son of the elite, nonetheless, he belonged to the low clergy, because of his Mexican origin. Miguel Hidalgo's sense of vocation, led him to cry out for the emancipation of the entire nation of Mexico, which, after the independence in 1821, was the biggest country of our continent. This priest also inaugurated the first Mexican flag, namely the Virgen de Guadalupe banner. That's why Guadalupe is primarily a symbol of Mexicaness. Having la Lupita greeting everybody by the entrance of this Episcopal chapel feels so good!
Jesus, on the other hand, is within the very same Temple, the main center of religious, political and economic power. Precisely from that place, the Galilean, the mestizo, the layperson, has the capacity to raise his voice, to scream, to cry out.
Obviously, that action has a price to pay:
II. The Arrest, 30
Miguel Hidalgo was arrested and killed by the State and excommunicated by the church. The religious charge was, of denying the transubstantiation doctrine and to become Lutheran. That reminds me of the event when Calvin sent Spaniard Miguel Servet to the stake because of his rejection of the Holy Trinity. When Servet said his last words: "Oh Christ, Son of the Eternal God, have mercy on me," Calvin's right hand, William Farell, who attended this human sacrifice said: "What a shame. If only Servetus instead of saying: Son of the Eternal God, had said: Son Eternal of God, he would've been saved from the flames!"
During Mexican colonial time and until recent times, to think differently from the Roman Catholic Church would make you a Lutheran, but unfortunately, this is an inaccuracy. Miguel Hidalgo´s real sin consisted of crying out and of organizing the people in their fight for justice. On September 15, 600 people followed him and, the next day, he already had a crowd of 81,200.
Jesus was just about to be arrested by the Sanhedrin, but their fear of the Galilean crowd prevented the religious and political leaders from doing it. It is not by chance that John places the Day of Jesus´ Cry in the temple after the feeding of the multitude, where the Nazarene showed his community organizing skills and his option for the poor.
III. The Sending, 33.
In 1810, Miguel Hidalgo sent the people to stop the ruling of the Spanish empire. A second sending took place in 1910 with the Mexican Revolution. And crowds are already talking about the 3rd sending next year 2010.
The first things Miguel Hidalgo did 200 years ago were to issue a decree against slavery, to bring European tecniques of pottery, goldsmithing, tannery, rebozos or shawl weaving.
Miguel Hidalgos heir José María Morelos y Pavón took over after Hidalgo's death. Morelos, the muleteer -son of a Black-Mexican mother- was the champion of the cause of the Indians and the big enemy of the wealthy. The current situation of Mexico is scandalous, where more than half of the population lives in poverty. All of us should join Morelos in crying out for the transnational corporations to redistribute riches.
In preparation for the bicentenary, the chief priests are trying to cancel Miguel Hidalgo's excommunication. The State is ready to change that part in the text books. And both church and State are silencing Spain's killing of 24 million Mexican Indians only in the first century of dominium. But those actions won't stop the Father of the country's voice to continue sending and accompanying the people towards economic liberation.
Jesus's great commission was one of many sendings. In the gospel of this day, the religious leaders are sending Jesus to the Greeks because the Jews don´t recognize God´s gracious sending of Jesus, the Liberator to the Jews themselves.
This is the Day of the Cry!
Let´s be in solidarity with the rainbow around 20 countries of origin of Latinos in the USA that cry for the return of the kidnapped President of Honduras. Let's learn our lesson from the layperson Jesus and the Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo and their option for the poor. Let's keep alive the capacity to raise our voice and to be sent to accompany the struggle for the immigration reform and all the struggles that will advance the Reign of God and its justice!
