Talking Theology with Jesus in Mexico
Posted on 16. Mar, 2011 by Lutheran World Relief in Latin America
by Kattie Somerfeld
“What is a Lutheran?”
This is the question posed to me by the 25 year old president Joel Caberera Rodas of the Eco-Palm group in Tierra y Libertad, a small community in Chiapas, Mexico.
He, Jesus Delacruz Arellano (pictured above), the owner of this land, and Javier (whose last name I did not catch), had led my host and translator, Guillermo, and I to the heart of this biosphere reserve.
We were surrounded by palms, coffee, bananas, oranges and native trees. Birds were chirping around us, the air was pure and fresh and the cleansing sound of rushing water from nearby streams provided the final detail for this serene setting.
I was touched by their questions. About what we believe. Who we are. Why we go out of our way to buy products that we know do more to help communities like theirs.
And so it was, through a translator, that I explained Martin Luther’s separation from the Catholic church almost 500 years ago. How Lutherans believe we are saved by grace, not works. How Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice frees us to do God’s work in the world.
Eliasin Visente Gonzalez, a worker with Eco-Palms
When I go on trips like this, I have many goals. To learn more about the people I’m encouraging Lutherans to support. To understand what their lives are like and how our programs are positively impacting their efforts to create a better life.
But above all else, I am there to get stories. It’s the best way I know to bring these experiences — these people — back to the congregations in the U.S. Like when Eliasin Visente Gonzales tell me that Eco-Palms allow him to buy shoes and clothes for his seven children. Or when the town council says that their kids actually stay in the communities instead of migrating to the U.S. for work.
What I had never considered was that the people I’m visiting would want to know so much about Lutherans. It seems silly to me know to have not considered this before, because it makes perfect sense.
Jesus, Joel and Javier were very humbled and grateful for the faithful act of Lutherans buying Eco-Palms for Palm Sunday.
And so am I.
Last year alone, 1200 Lutheran congregations purchased 280,000 Eco-Palm for Palm Sunday, returning $14,000 to palm-harvesting communities in Guatemala and Mexico — including Tierra y Libertad. The ordering deadline for 2011 is March 29. Visit lwr.org/palms for more information.
Kattie Somerfeld is LWR’s Fair Trade Coordinator
Lutheran World Relief is a nonprofit organization that works with Lutherans and partners around the world to end poverty, injustice, and human suffering.
