03-21-26

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
March 21, 2026
I have struggled to motivate myself to write this Etching. For you see, I have felt the need to write on a topic that I’d rather ignore. Yet as much as I have tried to go elsewhere with my thinking, I continue to return to this one thing. His name is Cesar Chavez, and I wrote about him back in high school. He was the co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association. In college, I had the opportunity to work with a group of farm workers, and they revered Chavez. During my time in Florida, I worked extensively with the Immokalee Farm Workers, and though Chavez had died in the early 90s, he was still mentioned in speeches, and his name would be part of chants during marches. His years of service made him a hero in the work for justice. Then earlier this week, the New York Times released a story that has been researched over the last five years. According to the story, and no one seems to be questioning its truthfulness, Chavez committed rape and sexual abuse of minors. I don’t need my heroes to be perfect, but a man who stood for the most vulnerable while abusing the vulnerable can no longer hold the title of hero. I am crushed, but at this point, it’s not about my feelings of betrayal or how I will process this. There were and are victims, and probably more than the number who have come forward. In some circles, people will try to excuse what he did because of all the good he did. But you cannot excuse or justify or play some linguistic game when crimes have been committed against children. Period! As followers of Jesus, we don’t require people to be perfect. And those who have known failure can be redeemed, and out of that redemption, bring good. But for far too long, we have turned away or redacted away things that a good and just society cannot ignore. It is time for a change, and if it means some giants will fall, so be it!

Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Yet along with your gift of mercy, continue to allow for justice to be sought in every moment and every situation. May the stories of victims never be lost to history. Amen.