Sandinistas, Jesus and Liberation Theology

"We all needs times of beauty / moments of refreshment by which to be empowered for the struggle

But if we seek empowerment exclusively in havens of retreat / we soon begin to think that beauty finds its dwelling place apart from where the people are

You have shown us that there is nothing more beautiful than a human face on fire with the love of justice

Because for you there is no line dividing art and revolution / Your poems in themselves are revolutionary acts and revolution is empowered by your verse 

So / Our friend / Keep writing and keep doing / The rest of us will always need reminding / that word and Deed are one"

This poem comes from Fernando, one of the individuals portrayed in "Liberation Theology: An Introductory Guide" by John Mcafee Brown. The book gives a brief account of the role of priests and liberation theology among the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. I have gotten interested in liberation theology since I have more or less concluded that any leftist movement which is unable to incorporate more spiritual elements is doomed to failure. I do not know too much about the history of Jews in the Soviet Union, but my Dad became a Zionist only after visiting the Soviet Union and witnessing the persecution that religious Jews faced there. (One of Stalin's much lesser known contributions to the development of the State of Israel -- not as big a deal as selling them the weapons that let them win the 1948 war of Independence / Nakba). l I know that religious groups some times play an actively counter-revolutionary roles in certain societies, so it is not necessarily easy for leftist movements to have religion / spirituality on their side, but it is still an important point. I think that Marx's notion of religion as the opiate of the masses can be a somewhat dangerous notion and can bleed into a kind of Euro-centric chauvinism. 

Anyway, this book was alright, although the author spent a somewhat annoying amount of time proving to the reader that he himself was not a Marxist. I found that pretty annoying. 

Maybe one of the best parts of the book was when the author talks about the difference between the Greek notions of chronos and kairos. Chronos is clock-time: minutes, seconds, days, with no special import implied. Kairos is "a special time, a time of decision, a time when things may hang in the balance and what we do (or don't do) will have far-reaching consequences" (102). It reminds me of Lenin's formulation about decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen. I was reading this book around Hanukkah, so it also reminded me of the bracha of Hannukah: blessing us with the miracles from those days in these times. Not all time is created equal, I guess is the idea.  

In general, I'm interested in the revolutionary and counter-revolutionary role that religion can play in societies. Although, what I am interested in most of all, is what the poet Fernando describes in his poem. The erasure of the line between art and revolution ... when "word and deed are one." The closest thing to that I can find these days is Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, but maybe I will live to see such things outside of the NFL as well.