The Power of Naming
Bruce and Linda Hanson – Honduras
Psalm 70
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O LORD, make haste to help me! Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me. Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!” turn back because of their shame. Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!” But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!
Bruce and Linda Hanson – Honduras
Psalm 70
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O LORD, make haste to help me! Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me. Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!” turn back because of their shame. Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!” But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!
I don’t know why this particular woman caught my attention. There are thousands of the elderly and disabled in the streets of the cities of Central America. This tiny, frail, wrinkled, elderly woman sat on the streets of San Jose, Costa Rica, her gnarled, arthritic hand held in front of her, begging for a few colones with which to buy her daily food. She chanted quietly to those who passed, “Tengo hambre, tengo hambre, tengo hambre, tengo hambre…” (I am hungry, I am hungry, I am hungry, I am hungry). I looked into her eyes as I passed. Then, after passing, I stopped, turned and collected our spare change. I hesitated a few seconds, feeling awkward, then walking back to the woman, I crouched before her and placed the few coins, about $.75 worth, in her hand. Her bony fingers clutched the coins as she thanked me. “Do you live here, in San José?” I asked her. “Si, señora,” she answered. “God bless you and give you health and safety,” I said, as always uncomfortable with her neediness next to my abundance and anxious to be on my way. She looked into my eyes, and grabbed my forearm before I had a chance to flee. “My name,” she said, slowly and with great dignity, “is Isabela Ferdinanda Ramírez. And I am 81 years old.” And in the piercing look from her pale brown eyes, the bony grasp of her arthritic fingers and especially in the sharing of her name, Isabela Ferdinanda Ramirez sealed my promise of prayer for her.
Dear God, help us to remember the Isabela’s of the world, those in pain, without enough to eat, who in this Holy Week remind us that your people still suffer. Help us to be your hands, your feet and your compassionate presence in the world. Amen.
Bruce and Linda Hanson are assigned to the Christian Commission on Development (CCD) to serve the Honduran Theological Community (CTH). Bruce is teaching HIV/AIDS education, prevention and care, while Linda is teaching theological courses.