Romero: God Hears the Cry of the Poor - Liberation (Exodus 3)

In the heart of El Salvador, amidst the shadow of political turmoil and poverty, Archbishop Oscar Romero experienced a divine awakening that forever changed his life and the lives of countless others. It was a day that began like any other, the tropical sun casting its warm glow over the bustling streets of San Salvador. But as news spread of the brutal murder of Rutilio Grande, a beloved priest and friend, Romero found himself standing at the foot of a burning bush—a moment infused with divine urgency.

In that moment of grief and anger, Romero felt the weight of Exodus 3:7-8 pressing upon his heart: "I have seen the affliction of my people… I have heard their cry… I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them.” God was not distant; God was intimately aware of the struggles faced by the poor, the marginalized, those who had been silenced. It was as if the very breath of God echoed in Romero’s chest, igniting a fire within him to speak out against the injustices ravaging his nation.

The streets were filled with the cries of the oppressed, their voices rising like a chorus of desperation. Romero could no longer turn away. He understood that this was his holy calling; he was summoned like Moses, tasked to confront the systems of oppression that sought to extinguish the light of hope.

Each Sunday, as he preached, the local base communities listened intently, recognizing their own struggles mirrored in the ancient text of Exodus. Together, they began to grasp that liberation was not merely a theological concept but a lived reality—a movement fueled by a God who stands with the oppressed. Romero’s journey is not just a story of one man; it is a clarion call for each of us to be agents of God’s justice, to stand up and join in the divine mission of liberation for our communities today. God sees, God hears, and, through us, God acts. Will we respond to that call?