Richard Ho Lung
WHAT A country! What a people! Jamaica holds a fascination for people all over the world. In matters of athletics and music we are famous beyond belief for producing repeatedly the best. In terms of food, this little island has produced what is now known as "the Jamaican taste." Natural intelligence and wit, both for the educated and the uneducated, abound among our people. Laughter and natural charm is in great abundance. The dramatic beauty of the mountains sweeping down to the seas, bearing with them the rivers and streams, can never be forgotten by our people and visitors. Then why this terrible evil, this soul-sickness in our land?
MOST BEAUTIFUL AND MOST VIOLENT
Why is it the most beautiful and the most violent at the same time? I have a conviction that without God we are a "dry parched land without water." Our young, our educated, our professionals are leaving our country. Almost all of us have friends, relatives, or acquaintances who have been killed. That strikes terror in our hearts, and a sense of desolation. We have tried to cope (I hope it is not too late), but feel it is far bigger than us. If the collective will of the people is to live by the laws and commandments of God, and to get rid of the terrorists who are multiplying like a hydra, surely this nation can expurgate the terrible sickness called anger and violence from our country. But we have to be one in heart and mind as a Christian nation. We must live by the law of moral rightness: politicians, the wealthy, the educated and uneducated. There must be order, not the madness of laissez-faire living in matters of God's commandments from which all civil law is derived.
Because there is so little example of righteousness on the part of the rich and powerful, the rest of our nation is living in shadows. The wild melee of buying and selling in the marketplace, gaming and the selling of one's flesh, and loose relationships without love and commitment have led to much heartbreak and confusion. As Psalm 73 says, "When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant, I was like a beast toward Thee? lo, those who are far from Thee shall perish?"
In Jamaica, the confusion and hurt have brought despair. Then we lose God, and in losing God we lose our central and only point of reference in fact, our source of life.
The Missionaries of the Poor live in the ghettos. We hear and see and experience the great anger and emptiness in the heart of the city. There are flashes of beauty and signs of gentleness, but the decrease of these is disturbing. We are here for all our days but we are saddened that in this extraordinary and beautiful island with so many gifts and potential, our technicolour island is being covered by a great pall of darkness and death.
Jamaicans love this country with a great passion. We want to see our nation fulfil its nationhood. We have the Christian roots. Why isn't everybody insisting on those roots as the only foundation and beginning of true life? All things pass away, but the word of God is forever. If we take seriously our Christian faith we will not die, we will live! Why are we not believing? We can prosper, we will prosper, but first and foremost we must seek the kingdom of God, and all other things will follow: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well" (Matthew 6:33).
JUSTICE
I am not here to preach to you but to tell you the truth. I love this island! I love my people! I love my God! And I labour for things that do not perish. We will prosper if we are righteous, when we speak by justice and live by justice. But we cannot live by empty words and empty promises of justice. Words! Words! Words! They are empty without fulfilling the promises made.
Our people are tired and angry. Let us make our promises that are basic and simple and fulfil them. When the word becomes flesh God will dwell among men.
Father Ho Lung is founder and leader of the Missionaries of the Poor.
