Celebrating Pentecost in the adversity of COVID-19

 By Marlon Innis SJ 

Last Sunday, May 31st, the Church celebrated Pentecost, Jesus sending down the Holy Spirit to his disciples empowering them to continue the mission. Armed with the Holy Spirit they were able to perform wonders, and be the prophetic voice to the people. The Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to proclaim with wisdom the coming of God’s kingdom among us on earth. This mission still continues today. Prayer, devotions, meditations among others are very important, but there is a need to do more. For example we can pray for a divine intervention, such as sending rain during a drought. If we fail to address destructive human practices towards the rainforests, then droughts are inevitable.

Similarly, the Church is the prophetic voice which must speak out in defence of the poor and vulnerable especially in face of adversities. For example, during the Forbes Burnham administration, Father Andrew Morrison, SJ now deceased, continuously used his prophetic voice to speak out and to challenge the ills which were destroying the fabric of Guyana's nationhood, and he was right to do this.

In recent times, there appears a reduced appetite for the prophetic voice to address core issues facing the people. Appeasement and remaining silent in order to protect a vested interest should not be entertained. Although Archbishop Oscar Romero who was an academic and a conservative chose to use his prophetic voice in defense of the poor and vulnerable. I think that the need for prophetic voice is worldwide but more so in Guyana especially during our adversities.

While in Guyana, the focus is on finding and maintaining ways of combating the rise and spread of COVID-19 which will eventually pass, there also exist opportunities for initiatives which will not only address the spiritual needs of the people.

Fifty-four years after independence we are still faced with issues, such as racial biases, voting according to race and exclusive governance, lack of care and concern for others, and perhaps the absence of a link that connects the spiritual/religious care with the fundamental issues of the day among many more. For instance, how is it that Catholics can attend Sunday Masses and other religious events where we profess brother and sisterhood, but during election season hatred, malice, anger, intolerance, stereotyping and negative judgments are displayed against each other. How can we link the Gospel message to people’s life situations so that efforts can be made to process our thought patterns? Is there a role the Church can play in nation building?

The feast of Pentecost provides the answer for us, which is to fiercely embrace the value of the Gospel by rejecting the evil which our two political dinosaurs, who have and will continue to feed their supporters, inclusive of members of the faithful, a racial diet which seeks to divide and sow the seeds of mistrust. Efforts must be made to teach our faithful that collectively all can rise up in faith, inspired and motivated by the Holy Spirit and the various initiatives which are in place to empower the people, to reject the source of evil and destruction in our country.

In the United States, there is protest in the midst of COVID-19 over the murder of African Americans. This violence is driven by the same force and motivation which is also at work in Guyana, a belief that one group of people is privileged over the other. Hence this cycle is repeated regularly. Almost every nation and its people bear scars that have deep-seated feelings of anger and resentment. This has plainly been displayed in the United States; likewise Guyanese bear the scars of post-colonization repression under varying leaderships which have governed Guyana. We carry many wounds from the past and unless these fundamental issues are addressed, our socio-economic, political, and spiritual development will remain an elusive dream.

The temptation is to appease and to keep silent so my vested interest is preserved. This pattern of self-interest can be seen in Guyana at present. Perhaps the words of Martin Niemoller, who was a well-known Lutheran pastor, might offer them a second thought. "First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a socialist, then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist, then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me."