What made them really angry, angry enough to murder, was that this convert used to be a terrorist like them.
Maria Elena Moyano had screamed with them for revolution in Peru. She had pleaded for feeding the peasants by the power of the gun. Then she met Jesus Christ and found a different kind of revolution—a revolution of love in her heart.
She became the vice-mayor of Lima’s largest shantytown. She organized far-reaching relief efforts among the poorest of the poor, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and tending to the orphans.
“They
call us Christians ‘firefighters of the revolution,’” she said,
“because they say we extinguish the fires they set. They want the
population to have absolutely nothing to eat, hoping that then the
people will resort to arms. But we must not fear terror. We must oppose
injustice and savagery to help those in need.”
Maria knew she
would suffer, but she also knew that she must share Christ’s sorrows
before sharing his glory. Maoist terrorists attacked with a violent
rage, blowing up the building where the food for the poor was housed.
“Sometimes I fear,” said Maria, “but I insist we should never resort to
violence. It is difficult to defeat terrorism, but not impossible.”
Angry at the effectiveness of Maria’s work and unable to stop her, the guerrillas killed Maria on February 1, 1992.
The Pharisees were not exactly tactical experts. Like the terrorists in Lima, their strategy for discouraging people from following Christ brought unintended results. Both the Pharisees and the terrorists worked hard for the people’s allegiance. The Pharisees tried starving the people’s souls while the terrorists tried starving the people’s stomachs. However, the people in Jerusalem and the people in Peru followed the revolutionary teachings of Jesus all the same. The harder the opposition works against Jesus, the more it works to advance his cause. The opposition can work against you and your efforts, but it will never defeat you when you work for the kingdom. In fact, the opposition may unwittingly work in your favor.