The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America January-March 2018 - 25

PreachIng aBouT Peace

Friendship,

continued from page 23
It is hope and that uncertainty that is imposed from inside
and out. from the outside, it is making ourselves believe that
capitalism can solve everything and that cuba will have a better
future with that system.
from within, it is making ourselves believe that in cuba
everything is going fine, that we are going down a road of
prosperity and that we will continue being the best country in
the world. These two promises are full of hope for many, but
also full of uncertainty, because we know that neither of the
two things is certain.

"Knowing that Jesus walks at
our side, with his hand on our
shoulder, makes us walk with
hope. But knowing that we have
friends that walk at our side, with
their hand on our shoulder, also
makes us walk with hope."
friendship has been a gesture of hope for us-the friendship that we receive and the friendship we give. friendship
wraps us in hope. friendship makes us know that sometimes
things delay a little in getting better, but that you should keep
on. This has made us face challenges with a lot of work, but
with a small ray of hope. It is for that reason that we sing, we
laugh and we make jokes about our problems-even when our
souls are worried about what we will give our families
to eat tomorrow.
knowing that Jesus walks at our side, with his hand
on our shoulders, makes us walk with hope. But knowing
that we have friends that walk at our side, with their
hands on our shoulders, also makes us walk with hope.
The loving presence of God and the loving presence of
so many friends gives us rest from our anxieties and gives
us strength to move hearts and keep ourselves alive and
full of hope in spite of mountains of obstacles. They

clothe us in hope.
now I would like for us to do a second spiritual exercise.
I want to share with you a very simple but beautiful song. My
friend and brother Samuel Aguilera is an excellent cuban
musician who participated in the 2013 Baptist peace fellowship Summer conference. he put to music the words of God
to Moses that we heard in the book of exodus, and we have
turned that song into a prayer and a reaffirmation of hope.
We are going to sing this song as a prayer.
first, we are going to sing it as if we were listening to the
voice of God saying to each one of us: "My presence will go with
you and I will give you peace." let's close our eyes and sing:
My presence will go with you and I will give you peace.
My presence will go with you and I will give you peace.
I will give you peace. I will give you peace.
My presence will go with you and I will give you peace.
finally, we are going to use a gesture of friendship with
our sisters and brothers that we have at our side and around
us. We are going to look at them, hug them, greet them and
tell them that our friendship will be with them.
My presence will go with you and I will give you peace.
My presence will go with you and I will give you peace.
I will give you rest. I will give you peace.
My presence will go with you and I will give you peace.
Amen.
-Since 2002, Orestes Roca has been pastor of the First Baptist Church
of Matanzas in Cuba and serves as Dean and Professor for the evangelical Theological Seminary of Matanzas. his church and seminary are
longtime partners with the BPFnA ~ Bautistas por la Paz. This sermon
was translated into english by Linda McManness.
endnote
1. Brother Roger of Taizé, waiting with Passion.

La derecha: Orestes Roca Santana saluda a
un amigo joven antes de predicar durante la
Conferencia de verano BPFNA ~ Bautistas por la
Paz 2017 en México. Foto de Richard Myers.
Right: Orestes Roca Santana greets a young friend
before preaching during the 2017 BPFNA ~ Bautistas
por la Paz Summer Conference in Mexico.
Photo by Richard Myers.

Baptist Peacemaker

JAN-MAR 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America January-March 2018