Reflections of a New Missionary - Lutheran Society for Missiology

5 8 Missio Apostolica
500 Years Stili Present
You might ask, why talk about someone who lived 500 years ago What has that to
do with Latin America today Well, I would suggest that what took place 500 years ago
has much to say about the status of Christianity in Latin America today, and it can and
needs to inform our strategies as we th~nk about the mission of God to Latin America.
The events of 500 years ago are still very much present in the minds of most Latin
Americans.
Indeed, every year the Guatemalan military honors all soldiers in the history of the
country who have lost their lives in service to their homeland. They have their own sort
of memorial day, and on that day they read a list of all soldiers in the history of
Guatemala who have died in battle. When the military officials are all assembled, before
the president and other officials on the parade grounds, the first name read is Tecun
Uman, the Quiche Indian chief who was killed by the Spanish conqueror Pedro Alvarado
during a decisive battle when the Spaniards finally dominated. Tecun Uman's figure is
also on the Guatemalan one-dollar bill. You will not see any Spanish conqueror honored
in any way like that, with the exception of Las Casas, least of all, Christopher Columbus.
What Kind of Evangelization
Now, let us fast-forward some 500 years, to 1992, the 500* anniversary of the
voyage of Columbus. To observe the 500' anniversary the Roman Catholic Church
erected large concrete crosses all over the country, especially along the highways at
every major intersection. The crosses were painted white, and bore the inscription: "500
years of evangelization in the New World." Interestingly, next to one of those crosses, a
large billboard was put up by a Guatemalan Indian group. The billboard was huge, and it
said not "500 years of evangelization," but rather, "500 years of passive resistance," and
included a quote from an ancient Mayan writing, the Popol Vuh, that would translate
roughly, "Let every man that is able rise up." One must ask, with Las Casas, what kind of
evangelization took place
Now, even more recently, there is great tension in the city of Coroa Vermelha, the
location where the Portuguese explorer Pedro Alverez Cabral first touched terra firma in
what is now known as Brazil. The first mass was said there in the year 1500. Brazilian
president Cardoso recently had a huge iron cross erected at that location, and has
dedicated it in commemoration of that event of 500 years ago. Even the president of
Portugal and the king of Spain were there. On the other hand, the people living in the
area, the surviving Pataxo Indians, had their own commemoration for the 18-22 of April,
and they have erected their own monument right next to the iron cross. This monument is
to commemorate 500 years of resistance. Unfortunately, the military police have already
destroyed their monument two times, but they just keep rebuilding it.