Practicing Our Faith

Fidel Castro told a story at his 1995 Harlem speech, about how Spaniards came to Cuba with the sword and the cross. He said, "You should understand that the cross cannot be introduced by the sword." Then he continued the story of the Cuban native who rose against the conqueror and was sentenced to die. While on the fire he was told that there is heaven and that he needs to be baptized to be in heaven. To which the native answered, "If the Spaniards go to that heaven, I do not want to go there!" Castro further said, “He did not say that he believe on it or not, he just said that if they go to heaven then I do not want to go there.  And now in this world, there are so many who speaks about heaven, right here in this world, so full of abuses, so full of injustice, they talk about heaven. And in that sense I could say, that heaven that you practice in this world, we do not want to go there, we do not believe in that heaven! We want to go to a heaven were there justice, were there is human dignity, were there is brotherhood. And in that heaven, I believe and for that heaven I am willing to give up my life.”

Castro, a brutal dictator to his enemies while a champion of anti-imperialism to others, irregardless of who he really is, his Harlem speech, speaks so much truth about duplicity of some people practicing religion. Truth hurts, but there is no other way than to face it. We are the reason why people shy away from God. We must practice Christianity and not just talk nor preach about it. Let us be Jesus to others. 

by aats