Introduction

Missiology, study of the theology of mission, one of the fundamental characters of the church; and the professor asked to prepare a mission statement, a thought provoking one. I reflected about the mission statement of Jesus, the master. "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Lk4:18-19). And I could find him accomplishing this mission statement throughout, the life of Jesus as we read in the gospels, from the Sermon on the Mount, down through the plain of Galilee and Jordan and finally at the zenith of Calvary. Jesus the incarnated God is extraordinarily ordinary through his predilection for the poor. He is a God in solidarity with the people, especially those who are rejected, neglected, who are the last, the least, and the lost, the oppressed and the destitute. The poor represents todays challenge especially for the religious living in the world, where millions of people are living in inhuman conditions and many are literally dying of hunger. We cant proclaim God the Father to those brethren without a commitment to work together in Christs name to build a, more just society. This dissertation is a humble attempt to understand Jesus' predilection for the poor from his words and deeds. The purpose of this work is to help myself equipped with the master's style of action and not a research into the being ness of Jesus. I believe this humble attempt may help me to walk along with Jesus, in my future mission, with a vision. Jesus preferential love that is tangible in the gospels is the inspiration behind this effort. Hence a deepening of the same is the goal of the work.

There are different ways of looking at things persons and events. Different branches of theology have been developed in connection with different people trying to understand

2 and define God. Christology attempts to understand Christ as the second person of the Trinity and it diverse nuances in the event of incarnation. Here in this dissertation our attempt is to understand Jesus' predilection for the poor, may be part of his personality, and part of his mission. This charism of Jesus is to be reflected in the church today. The first part of this work gives a conceptual clarification of the terms predilection and poor, which is followed by ban attempt to choke out the relevance of the topic. The structure and content of the study is also included there to get an overall idea about the work

Conceptual Clarifications
There are two important words that are to be understood in the whole study. They are a) predilection and b) the poor.

a) Predilection
The Collins English dictionary explains predilection as predisposition, preference or bias. At the same time it gives the Medieval Latin usage "praediligere" which means preferential love. (prae = before; diligere = to love) The American Heritage Dictionary refers predilection to a partiality or a disposition in favor of something, a preference. The synonyms of predilection given are bias, leaning, partiality, proclivity, and propensity, which share the central meaning - " a predisposition to favor a particular person, thing, point of view or course of action. The oxford word finder further explains predilection as a preference or special liking and it says the word is often followed by the preposition for.

3 In consultation with these dictionaries it is right to understand predilection as a preferential love for someone or something. Here it is clear the t the preference is moved by a love or a likeness. Predilection is also implies a choice, a choice out of two or more. Certainly it is a preference given to a particular out many.

The poor
Poor is a term widely used and popularly referred. There are different nuances of the term in the biblical language. The bible uses a variety of words to refer the poor, which have been the subject of etymological studies and research into possible socioeconomic and political backgrounds; as well as the focus of ethical discussions and the theologies of liberation. In scripture numerous groups suffer the pain of want and injustice: peasant, farmers, wage laborers, widows, orphans and foreigners. Many passages use verbs that graphically communicate that the poor are often victims of greed, lust for power and manipulation within legal systems or poor are prey to the cruelty of those in power. They often have no recourse to anyone but God. Jesus repeatedly demonstrates his concern for the less fortunate. In the sermon at Nazareth he declares that he has come to bring good news to the poor (Lk4: 16-21). Even though this passage also refers to spiritual realities and needs, there can be no denying that the feeding of the hungry and healing of the sick are important elements of Jesus' ministry.

Yet another group of poor were those who trusted in god. They were poor in the sense that they had nothing in themselves to rely upon, but trusted entirely upon god for their salvation. Even when the are materially poor, they are often happier that those who are rich, because being more dependant upon god, they know him better (Lk 4:18)

4 The concept of poor is very much associate to the history of Israel. Israel as a nation was born out of deep poverty (ex 1:8-14) and was never allowed to forget it. The wrongs done to the poor concerned the prophets (Is 1:23;Ezeh34; Amos2:6). At the outset of the ministry, Jesus, taking for his text Is61: 1-2, presents as his first aim, to preach good news to the poor. God's love and care for the poor are ventral to his providence. A special note is to be made at this juncture that Jesus' predilection for the poor does not mean that he loved only the poor, and rejected the rich; rather it indicates a special concern for the poor and afflicted. It is clear from the gospels that Jesus also moved with rich and powerful people.

Relevance
The holy father john Paul II at the general audience on Wednesday October 1999 while teaching on the church's preferential love for the poor " through out the history of the gospel radicalism has spurred many of Jesus' disciples to seek poverty to the point of selling their own goods and giving them as arms. Poverty here becomes a virtue, which besides alleviating the lot of the poor becomes a spiritual path to true wealth, that is, to an unfailing treasure in heaven (Lk12: 32-34). Material poverty is never an end in itself, but a means of following Christ, about whom Paul said to the Corinthians, " though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich (2Cor 8:9). The poor represents todays challenge especially for the wealthy peoples of our world where millions of people are living in inhuman conditions and many are literally dying of hunger. We cant proclaim god the father to these brethren without commitment to work together in Christs name to build a more just society. The church especially in her social magisterial from Rerun nova rum to Centesimal alum, has always strived to address the theme of the very poor. Christians, together with all

5 people of good will, must, by appropriate economic and political measures, to those structural changes, which are so necessary for humanity to be freed from the plague of poverty.

The challenge that Pope John Paul II has made to the church is a challenge to each one who believes in Christ. The following of Christs example, to reach out to those who are most poor, is necessary to meet this challenge. The how and why of Jesus' style may be a boost for his disciples to deepen his/her commitment. Thus it seems relevant to have a strong understanding of Jesus' predilection for the poor, to have a real individual predilection for the poor. So that the disciple is able to proclaim " Im send to proclaim good news to the poor."

Structure and content of the study

The structure and content of the study can be mentioned in four major titles. The first chapter deals with the context of Jesus ministry; Chapter II is Jesus predilection for the poor in his words chapter iii Jesus predilection in the miracles, chapter iv is Jesus; predilection for the women , and chapter v understands Jesus as the liberator.

Chapter 1 Social Environment Introduction

The good news, first preached in the villages of Galilee and Jordan, then in the city of Jerusalem by Jesus himself. In this chapter we will discuss the political, religious, economic and social features of Palestine and the cities of Roman Empire to help us to understand the background in which Jesus lived his mission.

Jesus Christ the divine master, whose charism we deal with, was a historical reality. It was at a definitive historical time that God incarnated in the world. In understanding the person on Jesus it is also important to understand the context, the historical background in which he was active in the history of man. It is obvious to say that the social environment has a great in the life of a human person. Definitely the social background would have influenced the life of Jesus too. The words, action and decisions of Jesus reflect his social background. Either he affirmed or reacted to the society in which was brought up. Jesus predilection would have been a necessity of his time. There might have been a great amount of ill treatment from the part of the rich against the poor and downtrodden people of the society. The status of woman may yet another fact to be unveiled. The political background of the kingdom also would have influenced his career. Thus in dealing with Jesus ministry and predilection for the poor, it is all the more important to know the socio-cultural, religion-political and economic background of Jesus time.

Economic context
The culture of the classical world was based on in a tradition that was older than money. Greek, Roman, and Hebrews all looked back to a time when wealth and status were measured in terms of land of flocks, and power was measured in terms of family allegiance. By the time of Jesus, money and movable wealth became much more important. Still, the basic economic fabric of this civilization was woven of the familiar fiber of personal contacts of favors done, returns expected, and allegiance owed.

The Rich

7 Under the Herodian dynasty Jerusalem, as the capital city was an example of royal splendors. Magnificent buildings arose; Herod organized splendid games every four years. The wealth of the ruler was displayed most conspicuously to the populace of Jerusalem in the glitter of the court. The material wealth of the Greco-roman world was distributed very unevenly. A tiny fraction of the population owned a vast proportion of the land and resources, and the mass of men and women had to make do with moderate means or scrape by on very little. Not everybody who was rich had a correspondingly high social status, but all members of the social elite had plenty of money. Conspicuous consumption was a required lifestyle of the upper classes; wealth functioned as a proof of social and political status, and spending money in a flashy was typically seemed more important than serving and investing it. Dealers and brokers could make money from the trade in slaves. Especially when wars produced a good supply of captives. Slaves were used depending on their talents and their masters needs, for skilled work as teachers, cooks, physicians, managers; for routine household services; and for brute physical work in mills, baths, mines, and fields.

Money Lending and tax collecting

Money lending was a profession in which equestrian and smaller businessman became involved. Moneychangers performed the essential service of converting small bronze coins into larger silver or gold denominations or exchanging the coins of one city for equivalent coins of another city. They also functioned as banks, receiving money at fixed rates of interest and lending it out to other borrowers. Individuals also lent out money and invested in business enterprises in the expectation of profit.

Slavery

8 Prisoners and sometimes the entire population of a conquered town were sold in slavery. The status of slaves varied. Those who rowed in galleys or worked in the quarries had a brutal existence, and at times slaves became restive socially and politically. Yet slaves had legal rights, and under the empire abusing or killing the slaves constituted a punishable crime. Besides working in business, farming and households, salves could be administrators, physicians, teachers, scholars and poets and accumulate wealth. Moreover, noble pagans denounced slavery, and some eastern religions accepted slaves without prejudice.

Social life Pattern of life

The vast majority of Jews in Jesus time in Galilee, Transjordan and Judea lived in small towns, not in the large cities such as Tiberius and Jerusalem. The walls of the houses were unevenly constructed of basalt blocks, not strong enough to support a second story. The rooms were very small with inadequate ventilation and tiny windows. Floors were made of large, uneven pieces of basalt, not closely fitted together.

The Family
In small towns, some families lived in one room, but most had several. The family often was patriarchal, including wives and children of married sons. Some extended families slept in one bedroom, but usually each couple and their children had their own. The bed was the most essential item. Ovens were vital; bread was baked weekly by the whole family.

9 It was rare for persons to remain unmarried. The Essens preferred monogamy.

The Synagogue
The villagers assembled for religious services in the synagogues, which also served as a town hall for country affairs. The people took turns reciting prayers and reading scriptures. They were plain without murals or mosaics. There was no raised platform for reading the Torah, no images of objects or symbols.

Languages
There were four primary languages used in Palestine in the 1st C.; Latin, Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew. Hebrew was written in Jesus time and still used in certain oral activities such as midrashic sermons, halakic teachings, and legal discussion.

Hellenistic Culture and Cities

Greek culture was influential in several ways in Palestine, especially in religious worship. Indigenous pagan cults were transformed by Greek elements. Herod the great build several Caesarea (shrines) dedicated to Augustus in Samaria, Panias and Caesarea and they contained statues, one Augustus modeled after Zeus and another of Rome modeled after Hera. Festival games were often conducted with these cults. Theaters and amphitheaters were built by Herod in Caesarea, and Jerusalem, were various kinds of games were celebrated; gymnastic and musical games, chariot racing, and animal baiting. The Hellenistic architecture of public buildings was prominent in all Greek cities. Each had its temples, theaters, and gymnasia with arcades, stoa, agora, aqueducts, baths,

10 fountains, and colonnades in the Greek style. Much of the temple in Jerusalem was itself built in Greek style. The influence of Hellenism was most effective in the sphere of trade and industry. Political organization was another of the most important ways of Hellenism affected Palestine. Democratically elected council ruled many cities. The council ruled not only the city but also all the villages and towns belonging too its often extensive territory. There were thirty-three such cities in or near Palestine.

Peasants
Peasants worked the land as their ancestors had always done; their lives were spent in small villages where kinship and loyalty were primary values. The Hasmonaens seem to have distributed conquered lands to such Jewish peasants, freeing them of taxation by the Seleucedes, in exchange for the peasants serving in the army in times of crisis. The Hasmoneans also kept some of the conquered territories as royal lands, which they leased to tenets to cultivate. Pompeys destruction of the Maccabean state has disastrous consequences that contributed to the social disorder leading to the first Jewish war against Romans. When the Roman general separated the Greek cities of Samaria and Trans Jordan from Judea he made a considerable number of Jewish peasants landless. This happened when the population of Judea had already reached its peak, so that some of the Jews went to Judea but others migrated into the Diaspora around the Mediterranean.

Class and Status

In terms of power, influence, money and perception of the time, we can divide the population of the Roman world into two main categories, those who influence and those without it, the honorable and humble, those who governed and those who were governed,

11 those who had property and those who did not. The upper category was very small, the lower one very large.

Upper Class
At the peak of the socio-economic pyramid was the single figure of the emperor, supported by the other members of the imperial household and by the officials of the central administration in Rome. Just below was the senatorial order, which during the republican period consisted of former magistrates, representing the most distinguished families of the Roman city-state. Under the principate, the composition changed. A larger group was known as equites or knights. According to Roman system they were wealthy landlords who could afford to ride to battle on horseback. By the end of Republic they were richer Roman citizens who had not entered the public world of politics and army. Under the principate, the order of the knights became an intermediate elite, with certain status symbols and with responsibility for certain duties in government of city and empire. On a lower level, the local aristocracies in the provinces and cities had acquired wealth and influence through inheritance, business or appointment.

Status of women
Women in Jesus time were very much oppressed. To add insult to injury, the oppression was rationalized, as compliance with the divine will. In Israel the husband was the wifes lord and master. Just as a girl was under the domination of her father, so a married woman was under the domination of her husband. The Ten Commandments as given in exodus 20/17 treat wives as property: you shall not covet your neighbors wife, nor male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him. A wife even addressed her husband as Adon- the same title a slave used with a master or a subject with a king.

12

The father had the power to sell his daughter (Ex21: 7). Girls were frequently betrothed at twelve and a half years of age because this was the time when a father ceased to have total legal disposition of his daughter. A father could even marry his daughter to a person who was deformed (Babylonian Talmund, Kethuboth 40b). Schools were for boys only. A womans education was restricted to her apprenticeship in household tasks. When a married woman left her house, she had to cover herself enough to prevent recognition. Otherwise she offended against accepted convention to the point that her husband had the right, and even the duty, dismiss her without any obligation of paying her sum stipulated in the marriage contract in case of divorce. The womens atrium in the temple was fifteen steps below the mans atrium, and women were forbidden to ascend to the upper atrium. A womans word could inherit a legacy only in the absence of a male heir. The validity of a womans contractual promise depended upon the will of the man to whom she was subject her father or her husband. Sterility, which was attributed only to women, was looked upon as a divine punishment (Lk 1:25). The esteem in which a woman was held was in proportion to the number of her male children. A woman was totally subject to her spouse.

Lower Classes
Below the aristocracy, the great mass of population lived its lives. A large intermediate level consisted of the small landowners, craftsmen, and shopkeepers and also the middle and lower ranks of Roman citizens in the army, from centurions down to ordinary legionary soldiers and veterans. These were people of some moderate substance and most of the people named in the pages of the New Testament seem belong to this group.

13 Below these merchants and craftsmen were the really poor, who had no property and supported themselves by piecework at the dock, in construction, or on farms. If they were Roman citizens in Rome they could claim their portion of the monthly grain dole, and there were special provision made to feed the poor in some other cities. One strategy by which a poor man could survive was by attaching himself as a client to a more powerful patron. Another was to steal or beg. Among the beggars were the sick, the blind, the lame, and the lepers, who play so important a part in the gospel accounts of Jesus ministry.

Slaves
The lowest legal status of all was the slaves. Greek philosophers considered them something less than human. Roman law regarded them as a piece of property, and the thousands of slaves who worked at the chattel gangs on ships, farms, road construction or mining were treated as nothing but commodity. On the other hand, the obvious fact that many slaves were intelligent, resourceful, clever and made somewhat ambivalent the position of those who were entrusted with the supervision of a farm or an urban workshop, with entertaining the family or educating their children. In trying to understand the psychology o9f t he slaves, we should probably distinguish between the slave born in captivity and, usually within a family which slaves participated to some extend in the social life and freeborn person who was captured and reduced to slavery, uprooted from home and family by war, pirates or slave hunts and cut off from everything that provides support structure to a human being.

The religious world

14 The Jews of this period would have had some knowledge of the non-Jewish religions of the peoples with whom they had contact; many of those peoples would have had some knowledge of Jewish religion. Often, on either side, such knowledge would have been partial, inaccurate, and even prejudiced. Therefore, although I shall attempt to present a sympathetic view of the Jewish. Pagan, and syncretistic religious world in which Christianity was born and developed, readers should remember that this presentation might not be what ordinary people perceived. Also, although the subject will be treated under the headings of Jewish and non-Jewish, readers should be alert to the dangers of compartmentalizing. In Palestine, even in areas where most of the population was Jewish, there was strong Hellenistic influence, but not necessarily evenly spread. Very Greco-Roman cities in Galilee, for instance, could be surrounded by villages whose inhabitants had little enthusiasm for Gentile thought and practice and other villages whose commerce brought them into closer contact with Hellenisms. Similarly, in the cosmopolitan cities of the Diaspora, Jews were not of one mind about Hellenistic institutions and culture, with attitudes ranging from enthusiastic participation and acculturation to ghetto like rejection. The designation Judaism is appropriate for the period of Israelite history that began in 539 BC with the Persian release of the captives from Judah who had been held in Babylon so that they might return to Jerusalem and its environs. In many ways the postexilic religion of Judaism was the heir of the pre-exilic religion of the Kingdom of Judah. The Temple was rebuilt sacrifices were offered; hymns or psalms were sung; the main pilgrimage fests were celebrated. Yet eventually meetings for prayer, devout reading, meditation, and instruction known as synagogues also became an important factor in Jewish life. The figure of the prophet became much less common and Judaism took on a particular religious coloration from Ezras proclamation of the Law (Hen 8:19:37) ca 400 BC. Certainly from that period obedience to the Law of Moses (the Torah) became more and more a paramount obligation of the Jew as a corollary of accepting the One God. While up to AD 70 attitudes toward the Temple often divided Jews, internal religious divisions centered on different interpretations of the Law existed before and after 70.

15 Amidst his depiction of the Maccabean struggle under Jonathan (ca 145 BC), Josephus wrote a famous description: At that time there were three haireseis (parties, sects, schools of thought from which heresies in later usage) of the Jews which held different opinions about human affairs: the first of them was called Pharisees, the second Sadducees, the third Essenes The roots of the Sadducees were probably in the Zadokite Temple priesthood and its admirers. They seem to have emerged as a distinct group in Maccabean times by remaining identified with the priesthood of the Jerusalem Temple when others turned away. Some place the origins of the Essenes ca. 200 BC in the atmosphere of Jewish apocalyptic expectations, but most scholars see them as springing from an opposition to developments in the Temple after 152 BC. They would be hasideans or pious ones who had joined the Maccabena revolt (1 Macc 2:42), partly because of the Syrian practice of replacing Zadokite high priest, and who felt betrayed by Jonathan and Simon, the brothers of Judas Maccabeus, who accepted this honor from the Syrian kings. What we know about the Essenes has been greatly enlarged by the discovery beginning in 1947 of scrolls or fragments of some 800 mss. Near Qumran by the Dead Sea because in the majority view these documents stem from a statement of Essenes at that site from ca. 150 BC to AD 70. The Pharisees were not a priestly movement and seemingly the Maccabean assumption of the priesthood was not a factor in their thought. Yet their very name, which implies separation, probably results from the fact that they too ultimately became critical of and split from the hasmonean descendants of the Maccabees who became increasingly secularized rulers. The Pharisees approach to the written Law of Moses was marked by a theory of a second, oral Law (supposedly also derived from Moses); their interpretations were less severe than those of the Essens and more innovative than those of the Sadducees who remained conservatively restricted to the written Law. Three major questions flowing from the Jewish religious background need to be considered as part of a study of the NT and Jesus. During the time of Jesus public

16 ministry, which religious group was the most important? Josephus calls the Pharisees the leading sect, extremely influential among the townspeople. That may explain why Jesus is remembered as having been more often in confrontation with them than with any other group-a backhanded compliment to their importance.

Non-Jewish Religious World

There is no doubt that Jesus, the early Christian preachers, and the NT writers were influenced by both the OT and early post-OT Judaism. More debatable is the extent to which they were influenced by the non-Jewish religions and philosophies of the GrecoRoman world. If we start with Jesus himself, the answer is that we do not know. In the synoptic Gospel memory he has little contact with Gentiles or Pagans forbids his disciples to go near them (Matt 10:5) or imitate their ways (Matt 6:32), betrays Jewish prejudice toward them (dogs in Mark 7:27-28; even the Gentiles in Matt 5:47)., His judgment that they are wordy in their prayers (Matt. 6:7) need not imply that he had experienced this personally. Nor do we know the extent to which the early Galilean Christian preachers were influenced by the Pagan religious/philosophical world.

Chapter2 Jesus Predilection for the poor Introduction JOHN THE BAPTISTS QUESTION
The passage describes how disciples of john the Baptist question whether Jesus is the coming one, and are given the answer that the sick are being healed, and the poor are the

17 recipients of good news. The answer implies that Jesus is the expected deliverer by stating that already the prophecies are being fulfilled. We are probably to see here allusions to Isaiah 35.5-6 and to Isaiah 61.1 those mention the healing of the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the dumb, and the preaching of good news to the poor and humble. The cleansing of lepers and the raising of the dead is not mentioned in these passages but reference could be made to further passages in the Hebrew Bible such as 2 Kings 5; Isaiah 26.19; I Kings 17.22; and 2 Kings 4.34. Jewish teaching certainly expected an end to sickness, death, and poverty in the new age. In the Ancient Near East the blind, the deaf, and the lame often had to beg for their living. The good news for the poor is therefore similar to the healing of the afflicted, and means an end of present suffering. Behind the word poor used in the Q passage under discussion lies the Hebrew text of Isaiah 61.1. The word used there could be translated humble, and could refer either to humility of outlook, or humility of status, or both. The best guide to the meaning in such case in the context, and it is clear from the context, both in Isaiah 61 and in the synoptic tradition, that real affliction is envisaged. The association of the poor with the blind, the lame, the lepers, and the deaf makes this clear. Rabbinic Judaism expected piety to be rewarded in this life and in the coming age. But here we have the promise that the suffering and afflicted are being, and will be, recompensed or restored Judaism certainly taught and reads the importance of generosity to the poor and the afflicted, though poverty and sickness were in some texts regarded as a punishment for sin. The gospels show Jesus as rejecting this latter view (Luke 13.2; John 9:2-3). That would fit with the expectation that those who suffer now are to be delivered in the new age, which is already dawning. Luke 7.22 par is saying that, with the coming of Jesus, deliverance is already being achieved, not by natural means, but by the coming of Gods reign. The passage is close to the hopes of the psalms and of apocalyptic Judaism in this respect, though differing from them in declaring that the expected deliverance is already inaugurated. The healing stories of the gospels and the reply to John agree in seeing the afflicted as especially the recipients of the activity of Jesus in this connection. Characteristic of

18 Jesus ministry is his willingness to go to the outcasts of the society of his country and his time. The proclamation of good news to the poor is part of the insistence that no one is excluded from the invitation to the Kingdom.

THE BEATITUDES
The Beatitudes (Lk 6:20-21, Mt 5:3-9) show that the poor are the center of Jesus message and the subjects of Gods kingdom. The beatitudes address those who are actually poor, hungry, mournful and hated Now. The accompanying woes and resembling the contrasts in the Magnificat, hint at the antagonisms engendered among the addressee by the affluentat times but not consistently, Luke seems to regard the very possession of wealth (unless distributed to the poor as corrupting ones relationship to God. The Beatitude in Luke blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall e satisfied (Lk 6:21) is also addressed directly to those who experience hunger and want. This status will be reversed in the messianic kingdom. There is a great contrast between the beatitudes, which the world proclaims, and those of Jesus Christ. The world says, Blessed are the rich our lord says Blessed are he poor, why are they blessed? Because, says our Lord, theirs is the kingdom of heaven; because even in this life, having neither fear nor anxiety, they are in peace, which is a foretaste of heaven. In a vivid figure of speech Jesus calls justice a hunger and thirst. He makes this appetite for justice beatitude, that is, a prerequisite and a claim for becoming blessed in the kingdom of God, and therefore a fundamental necessity for this same kingdom among

19 men. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill (Matt. 5:6). Thus justice is to the Christian what food is to the hungry and drink to the thirsty. The man who is hungry eats to the last crumb, and the man who is thirsty drinks to the last drop; just so, mans appetite for complete justice must be nothing short of voracious. But it is to be noted that the point of this beatitude is not only, nor mainly, in the satisfaction of this hunger; it is above all in having the hunger. This means that in order to merit bliss, the desire for justice must be no less than a starving for it. And just as everyday there is need for food, so every day there is need of justice. He who is hungry searches until he finds the wherewithal to satisfy his hunger. And so it is with justice. The beatitude implies that unhappiness resides not so much in the lack of justice as in the scant appetite men feel for it. Of this consuming desire, without the satisfaction of which the spirit cannot live just as the body cannot live without food and drink, Christ had made an explicit command: seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice (Matt. 6:33). This is the primary requisite for everything else; into other terms, the precept means: first put into practice the laws through which the kingdom of Christ, the Church, becomes established in the world, and ender it its due; the rest peace, liberty, civil justice will be natural and spontaneous results, since it is always the mind of man that determines the complexion of the society in which he lives. Naturally other elements and other pursuits are necessary and these are left to the free initiative of the members of society. But first of all there must be the constant disposition to justice. Whoever has this disposition - this hunger and thirst will be filled. In other words, there shall be justice; there shall be an ultimate tribunal. An earthly tribunal may err, the weak may be wronged by the strong, but this violation, this destruction of equilibrium, of acquits cannot endure. It is loathsome to the conscience. It creates new hunger and new thirst. And in every case, in the complete cycle of life, of which earthly life is but a short segment, it will be remedied. Without this certainty life becomes a hell for whoever is a victim of law itself when it does not conform to justice; for the slaves, for instance. But

20 ever since the sermon of the beatitudes, the Christian mind has undertaken to dissolve the dualism between civil law and aequitas impelling the latter to absorb the former.

WIDOWS OFFERING
In the temple, where Israels authorities and guides deal in business with, make a business of, religion; this forlorn widow makes a greater contribution than all the wealthy together. She gives something the rich cannot give. Jesus interpretation of the widows conduct subverts the whole notion of religious bookkeeping. In contrast with the lawyers lifestyle (Mk 12:38-40), Jesus points to the destitute widow as a model. It is from her that the disciples are to learn something. A among those like here Gods true people are to be found, these are the people who love God with their whole being (Mk 12:4; 12:28-30). The widow knows how to offer true worship to God (12:33). She is a full-fledged citizen of the kingdom of God (12:34) In contrast with the sterility of official religion, which gets along on miracles and money alone (Mk 11:12-22), the poor widow demonstrates true faith in God (11:22-24). Her strength and her security are God (12:44). The interpretation Jesus and the first Christians make of this poor persons behavior is an absolute and utter reversal of values, a contradiction of anything that motivates a class society, a commercial society. For this poor person, as for the poor Jesus and the poor primitive communities, what counts is God. I want you to observe The Gulf is Unbridgeable What the widow deposited in one of the temple collection boxes was an absolutely paltry sum. The coins she places in the box were the smallest in circulation. What she gave was useless from an economic standpoint: it could never have improved the temple finances (Simon 1969, 123). The rich give a great deal, and with a flourish. Faced with

21 the striking contrast, Jesus decides to delve into it with his disciples, so that they may see what he thinks about the matter and come to grasp the importance it has for them who hope to have a share in the kingdom of God (Mk 6:7, 714, 8:1, 34, 10:42) For Jesus, what the rich give is religious compromise. They give nothing less than two cents. The rich lose nothing, risk nothing. They give God from their superfluity. What the widow gives is what she has to live on. She gives herself to God altogether. God is the basis and foundation of her whole life. It is God on whom she counts for facing the uncertainties of her future. She has placed here whole existence in the hands of god. The difference between the widow and the rich is not one of degree but of kind. The gap is measureless. The widow does what any follower of Jesus must do: have absolute confidence in God (Mk 11:22-24). What God is for the widow, God must also be for the follower of Jesus; incomparably more than power, more than money, more than everything (Mk 11:15; 12:40). If you follow money, you cannot follow Jesus (10:22). You cannot get into the kingdom of God with money (10:25).

Last Judgment
At the last judgment, it is evident that faith does not suffice, that charity, good deeds, are necessary. The Gospel (Mt. 25:34-46) says that when the Son of Man shall come in clouds of glory surrounded by his angels, and when all nations have been gathered together before him, he will separate them as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, setting the good upon his right hand and the bad on his left. And he will then act as king, since he will determine the rank of his subjects in the kingdom of heaven. To those on the right he will say: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.

22 Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord when did we see the hungry, and fed thee: thirsty, and gave thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked, and covered thee? Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? And the king answering shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to me Christs judgment invests the poor, the hungry, the prisoners, the tramps, and beggars, all the sweeping of society with a dignity that is infinite, in fact divine. They become the image of Christ and something more than his image, so much so that medieval folklores delighted in numerous legends in which Jesus returned to the world in the guise of a beggar. It was another overwhelmingly revolutionary feature of his religion and it upset all existing concepts of dignity and divinity. Though for widely different reasons, it was bound to affect, as it does, to an infinite degree both rich and poor alike. It makes the rich man understand that wealth is only of relative value, that it carries with it certain definite obligations, that it has a new function, which is to serve his neighbor; and it obliterates the numerous and complex barriers set up between him and the poor This is so true that without the poor we should not have a visible, tangible image of Christ: For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always as he said himself in Bethany (matt. 26:11) while the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels will consume those who violate the laws of this mercy. Jesus the Judge will proclaim the royalty of poverty when he appears as King remembering that he has been living among men at every moment in the person of derelicts, who have never been wanting. And poverty at the time of Jesus when it was almost general throughout the Empire, was very much more extreme than the poverty of today that lives in brick houses. And just as he identifies himself symbolically with the poor, Jesus also identifies himself with those who, lacking in physical or spiritual strengthy, are in danger of being completely overwhelmed by existence, which, outside the law of love, is sheer struggle. The weakest of all creatures and those most needing protection are the children.

23

Jesus obliges us to take care of these easy victims of the strong, to receive them into our homes, not as our own children but as we should receive him himself. He identifies those innocents with himself, the Innocent both victims of human selfishness. And he obliges us not only to give children physical help, but also to look after their morals and provide for their education and he threatens the most terrible punishment to whoever shall scandalize them.

Chapter 3 SIGNS OF LIBERATION

Jesus preaching is a call to conversion, a summons to accept Gods triumph. It cannot be separated from deliverance from bodily slaveries (Lk 4:17-21) Jesus commits all his strength against the murderous might that enslaves peoples bodies (Lk 13:16; Jn 8:44) with Jesus the future is present here and now. The new heaven, where justice reigns, has already come. Jesus activity is the anticipation of future total victory over the power of destruction and death. They are words proclaiming the kingdom, words containing Jesus message (LeonDufour 1964) as Augustine put it, The deeds of the Word, too, are words for us(Commentary on John, 24:6) Marks Gospel the wonderful works of Jesus in favor of the sick are gospel the good news of the kingdom and this is why the sick need no other prerequisite than to be in misery and dereliction The essence of Jesus miracles lies not in their stupendous ness and verifiability but in their reference to the person of Jesus. They manifest his nearness to God, his triumph over the powers that destroy the human being, and the might of his limitless love as it is revealed to us in his Resurrection

24

The miracles have relevance for us because they reveal to us what Jesus is. In other words they have meaning for us because Jesus has meaning for us

Good News for the Downtrodden the healing of a leper

Mark 1:40-45 tells us of the healing of a leper. Here we can see the marvelous power of Jesus. Leprosy was considered a fatal disease. It was called the firstborn of death and was looked upon as the worst form of bodily impurity that could infect a human being. The Babylonian Talmud names four classes of people to be considered as good as dead: the poor, the blind, the sterile, and lepers. Lepers had to keep away from the community. They had to live apart, with their own kind, as they were ritually unclean and thus threatened the purity of the people. The one who hears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard, he shall cry out, Unclean, Unclean as long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp Lepers were prohibited from entering Jerusalem or any of the old walled cities. In the cities where they were admitted special precautions were taken against them because whatever they might touch became impure. Lepers were stigmatized as persons who had been struck down by the wrath of God. Leprosy was even called the stroke, the blow. The affliction was considered divine punishment for slander, pride, or murder. Touching a leper rendered one incapable of offering worship to God. This will explain the phobia of Rabbi Resh Laksih, who stoned lepers whenever he saw them. It will also

25 explain the fastidiousness of certain other rabbis. Some, for instance, refusing to eat eggs from hens that had been allowed to roam in an alley where a leper lived. Jesus allows this leper, this worst of all social outcasts, physically to approach him. Jesus even touches him (Mk 1:41). Jesus is not afraid of soiling himself. This is not the kind of impurity he attacks. The impurity he attacks is the one that brings on real death, the one that endangers ones nearness to God. Jesus is able to look beyond the loathsomeness and devastation caused by this terrible disease. He is able to see the suffering of a concrete human being. This intense compassion, this total solidarity with the outcast and the suffering, merited Jesus exclusion from respectable Jewish society. With Jesus the barriers society has constructed within itself collapse. Jesus is interested in something more than a particular societys self-preservation. He is interested in the suppression of human humiliation. Wherever Jesus is, all reasons for segregation disappears. No more may suffering human beings be branded as abominable. Jesus radical repugnance for evil creates genuine purity.

Miraculous meal
The reason Jesus performed this miracle for the people are altogether clean in the Gospel of Mark: He pitied them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd.. To pity fails to express the whole meaning of the verb splangchnisthomai. Except in the parables, the subject of this verb in the Gospels is never anyone but Jesus himself. It is the equivalent of the verb makrothumeo, to behave with high-mindedness, or to persevere in understanding, corresponding to the English word long-suffering. It is the contrary of to go into a rage. These expressions are among the strongest the Greek language has to show human emotions.

26 Splangchnisthomai is strikingly reminiscent of emotions of God in the Old Testament and hence connotes the divine element in Jesus action. It indicates that Gods own mercy is being exercise here. Jesus emotion is aroused by the plight of the people-these sheep without a shepherd. He reacts interiorly to their state of dereliction and abandonment. A flock, of course, calls up a familiar Old Testament image of the people of God.

In providing the poor with their miraculous meal, Jesus shows himself to be their shepherd, their liberator, and the answer to the needs of a people in danger of collapse. In the banquet that Jesus spreads, all dine in abundance, all dine on the same food, and all receive the same attention. It is a meal for all, and the poor have been invited. Jesus celebrates and dines with the outcast so as to fill them with joy (Mk 2:15-17). Without self-interest he provides a hungry, scourged people with nourishment. It is the feast day of the poor. With Jesus near, the poor are on holiday. With Jesus, you dont need money. The divine mercy, not money, meets the needs and hopes of an exploited people. In Jesus are fulfilled the hopes of a people whom the Lord means to rescuer from every slavery. Jesus takes the needs of the people to heart. In Jesus, Gods power is present in total commitment to the oppressed. It is God who is Jesus driving force, and thus it is God who is the peoples shepherd.

Chapter 4
Jesus Option for Women
Women were s oppressed and marginalized class in Jewish society. Jesus shows esteem for them, manifests concern and compassion for their suffering and takes initiative to help them in their need. He defends them against male arrogance: for example, the sinful woman (Lk 7:30-50) or the woman who anointed him at Bethany (Mk 14:3-9) or the

27 woman taken in adultery (Jn 8:1-11). Here we shall see briefly Jesus concern for the afflicted classes of women.

Jesus Inner Freedom in His Relationship with women

The gospels clearly show that Jesus relationships with the many women he met during his ministry were marked by a unique inner freedom and serenity. He was not constrained by the Jewish prejudices and taboos, which governed the dealings of men with women. Jewish society was very strict regarding women. Jewish rabbis taught that men should beware of unnecessary contact with women; even avoid speaking to them unnecessarily. On the street, a man should not walk behind a woman, he should not be alone with another woman; the voice and the hair of a woman are immoral, etc. Despite the norms of the Jewish society, is his healing ministry Jesus spontaneously touched women. To heal Peters mother-in-law, Jesus went over to the sick woman and bending over here, touched her; and taking her by the hand he raised her up (Mk 1:2931). This is quite remarkable because Jewish custom did not permit a respected rabbi or religious leader to touch or take a woman by the hand. In order to raise the daughter of jairus, Jesus took the young girl by the hand (Mark 5:41). He healed the crippled woman in the synagogue laying his hands upon her (Lk 13:13) Jesus also allowed himself to be touched by women without any nervousness or anxiety. The woman with a flow of blood, which customarily meant in a state of continual ritual impurity, touched him stealthily from behind, probably because she was aware of the impropriety of her action; for the touch of an unclean woman was considered to be defiling. Jesus showed no disapproval of the defiling touch; rather, he praised her for her faith. Jesus did not allow the taboo of feminine uncleanness to interfere with his saving activity.

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At Bethany Jesus willingly accepted the loving service of an anonymous woman who pored a jar of ointment over his head (Mk 14:3). The gestures of the sinful woman in Lk 7:36-50 who touched Jesus in an intimate way are particularly moving. It was shocking for those present that Jesus, the young celibate teacher, allowed himself to be so caressed and kissed by the notorious woman. That, Jesus had close friendship with Martha and Mary was well known, too. Thus we see Jesus, going against Jewish convention and custom, speaking with women freely. His dialogue with the Samaritan woman drew surprise from his disciples (Jn 4:27). He comforted the mourning widow of Nain with the words: Do not weep (Lk 7:13) he engaged in dialogue with the legally impure pagan woman (Mk 7:24-30)

Woman, Not Sexual object but Human person

Jewish society made serious efforts to seclude women imposing severe restrictions. According to the rabbis, any social contact between man and woman would lead inevitably to sexual desire. The presence of a woman was viewed as creating an inescapable danger to a mans morality. Woman is by nature a seductress; even the very sight of a woman was considered seductive. Thus in Jewish society, relationship between man and woman was poisoned by the one-sided view of a woman being mainly a sexual object. Jesus did not approve of these views on Judaism. He rejected the idea that lust is uncontrollable. He did not warn against looking at women, but against looking at them lustfully: I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Mt 5:28). Jesus categorical prohibition of divorce also teaches that women are not sexual objects which men can discard at will after use.

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Liberation of Women by Jesus. From a Spirit of Infirmity

The healing of a woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath is highly significant (Lk 13:1017). She was bent over and could not straighten up due to a spirit of infirmity, through which Satan had bound her for eighteen years. Her bent condition is a paradigm of the suppressed and disadvantageous condition of women in the male-dominated Jewish society, where they could not stand straight and claim their rights. The anonymous woman, resigned to here accustomed miserable lot slipped into the last place, at the back of the synagogue, avoiding the public eye. Yet, Jesus compassionate gaze reached here and he called her to himself. Laying his hands upon her he spoke his word of healing and instantly she stood straight and praised God, significantly on the Sabbath. The liberation of this bent woman and restoration to her dignity as a daughter of Abraham are privileged sings of the liberation of the kingdom of God, announced by Isaiah, now in progress through Jesus ministry. Women have equal rights with men for the blessings of the kingdom of God. Jesus was ready to risk bitter opposition of the leaders of the Jews to release the woman from the bonds of Satan even on the Sabbath.

From the Suspicion of Uncleanness

Woman is a being under suspicion: she is suspected of being impure because she is woman, of being polluted by the most natural physiological laws of her sexuality. The woman with a flow of blood (Mk 5:21-34) was afflicted by This curse of being a woman in a pitiable way: it was not just the usual monthly flow but uninterrupted flow of blood lasting twelve years Jewish law regarded such women as unclean (Lev 15:9,25)

30 since her impurity was considered contagious she did not dare to approach Jesus publicly. We know the rest of the story about her wonderful healing and Jesus total disregard of the taboos of purity and impurity. According to him there is nothing defiling or accursed in the natural functions of female sexuality. A woman is as worthy of a personal relationship with Jesus as any of his chosen disciples.

From the suspicion of being a seductress

The story of the woman caught in adultery is quite instructive (Jn 8:1-11). We see the pathetic picture of this woman, caught in the very act of committing adultery, trapped by at least two witnesses, pushed to the center of public attention by her accusers, isolated, overwhelmed by shame and far, bent under the burden of the scorn and contempt of the jeering crowd. Mosaic Law prescribes for an adulteress death by stoning (Deut 22:22). Her accusers insist on their pound of flesh in a bid to enforce the law. Jesus answer, Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her, strikes at the base motives of the accusers and witnesses who show no concern for the woman and her destiny in their eagerness to trap Jesus. He challenges their conscience. Sin is not the exclusive burden of a woman. No woman can commit adultery alone; it is the communal sin of a man and a woman. But the male dominated society deals with a womans sin with extra severity. Jesus condemns the system in which a mans lust is treated lightly, while a womans seduction, whatever the circumstances, is harshly punished.

From Male Dominance in Marriage

Jesus revolutionary teaching on marriage and divorce was a declaration of independence of woman from the unlimited power of the Jewish husband or his wife (Mt 19:2-10, Mk 10:2-12). The question the Pharisees ask (Mt 19:3) is whether there is any limit to the power of the husband over his wife, when he wants to divorce here. This question is not surprising because according to Jewish tradition the wife was the property of her husband and so he had property rights over her; she existed only to give him descendants and to satisfy his needs.

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Jesus answer declares emphatically the sanctity hand permanence of marriage according to the original creative will of God. God created man as a couple, a male and a female (Gen 1:27), because he wanted to unite them in one flesh (Gen 2:24). One flesh suggests the close, intimate union between husband and wife. Jesus teaches an unconditional prohibition; what God has joined together, let no man put asunder (Mk 10). Jesus thus condemns all the gross injustice and cruelty perpetrated against women by their hard-hearted husbands, exercising unlimited power over them, derived from rabbinical interpretations of the Law of Moses.

Jesus concern for the Afflicted Classes of Women

Jesus has a special concern for the afflicted classes of women in Jewish society. We shall briefly discuss Jesus concern for two especially afflicted classes of women, namely, widows and prostitutes. A Widow was a particularly poor woman, who has confronted death and loss and failure in a poignantly personal way. She had nothing more to hope for. Inferior desolation and material poverty were her lot. Jesus showed concern for widows in his sayings (Lk 4:25; 18:2-8; Mk 12:40). He showed effective compassion for the widow who had lost her only son and sole means of support (Lk 7:11-17); particularly striking is the story of the poor widow (Mk 12:41-44) who possessed nothing but two copper coins; without keeping anything for herself she gave her all to God. Jesus saw the seemingly insignificant deed of the widow; and calling his disciples he solemnly extolled her as a model for generosity in discipleship. In Israel prostitution was considered the worst form of pollution for a woman, and a prostitute was the paradigm for the unfaithful and idolatrous people of Israel. Schuessler Fiorenza gives us an idea of the social condition of prostitution in Israel:

32 Prostitutes usually were slaves, daughters who had been sold or rented out by their parents, wives who were rented out by their husbands, poor women, exposed girls, the divorced and the widowed, single mothers, captives of war or piracy, women bought for soldiers, in short, women who could not derive a livelihood from their position in the patriarchal family or those who had to work for a living but could not engage in middle or upper-class professions. In Palestine, torn by war, colonial taxation, and famine, the number of such women must have been great. Jesus option for this miserable class of women resounds in the saying in Mt 21:31-32: Truly I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. It was indeed shocking for his hearers that prostitutes would enter the kingdom ahead of the pious and righteous Israelites. The story of the sinful woman of the city (Lk 7:36-50) is a good illustration of Jesus attitude towards these miserable daughters of Abraham.

Faithful Disciples and Witnesses

During Jesus ministry through the villages and cities of Galilee not only the twelve disciples but also many women accompanied him (Lk 8:1-3). These women had been healed by him from demons and infirmities, and out of gratitude they left their homes and followed him as his companions. Together with the Twelve they heard his teaching and witnessed his deeds. In return for His spiritual help they provided for Jesus and the Twelve from their financial resources. The women followers of Jesus were present on Calvary at the momentous scenes of Jesus crucifixion, death and burial (Mk 15:40-41, 47). The twelve were totally absent from these final events: it is not they, but these faithful women who were the witnesses to the central events of the Christian faith and preaching.

33 These women were also the first witnesses and proclaimers of the Easter message. They were the first to visit the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning and to hear the paschal message from the heavenly messenger (Mk 16:1-8). They were also the first to see the risen Lord (Mt 28:9-10; Jn 20:11-18). Commissioned by the angel and Jesus himself the women actually announced the paschal message to the disciples (Lk 24:8-11) who reacted, of course, in accordance with their Jewish prejudices about women, with unbelief, for which they were rebuked by Jesus (Mk 16:14) Schuessler emphasizes that the loyalty and witness of these Galilean women were decisive for the very continuation of the Jesus movement after the crucifixion. Having come through their Easter experience to the faith that Jesus had indeed risen, they took the initiative to gather together the scattered disciples and friends of Jesus and thus kept alive the good news of Jesus resurrection.

Chapter 5 JESUS THE LIBERATOR

The following talks study Jesus involvement in the society of his time. Though making an incomplete and socially oriented presentation of Jesus, they will help us discover some neglected aspects of his personality and life. Some characteristics of Jewish society: then: A religious, not secularized, world, belief in god, good and evil spirits, miracles, etc. religion influenced all aspects of life. A theocratic society the same leaders controlled the religious and political orders and made laws for both of them. Jews expected the end of the world to come soon. The attention was focused on the hated Roman occupation and messianic expectation often had a political character. Feudal/slave society. No political parties, elections, trade unions and peoples organizations as understood today. To discover Jesus relevance, one should not only ask what he did at that time, but also what he would do today

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Jesus background Jesus belonged to the oppressed classes of his society and never denied his origins. He was a villager from Galilee, a layman, not being a scribe, he was not considered educated. He began his ministry without the support of any important group. Economically he belonged to the class of small village artisans who possess their own means of subsistence, but have to struggle to live. More or less like small farmers and fishermen. For the sake of his ministry, he left the little he had and became an itinerant preacher. Jesus vocation: he was neither an uninvolved layman nor monk. He was not a priest. Nor a pious Jew/Pharisee. He did not study under the scribes of Jerusalem to become influential. Though tempted to do so, he refused to become a zealot leader fighting against Roman oppression. He understood himself as Christ the liberator of his people (cf. his baptism). He was mainly a prophet and a religious reformer/revolutionary, as we shall explain A key question: Jesus began his public ministry when he was about 27-30 years old. Within 2-3 years the Jewish and Roman leaders condemned him to death. What did Jesus do and say, in that short period, to create such a reaction? To understand his life, one must answer this key question.

Jesus Ministry can be roughly divided into three periods Jesus work among the masses
Contrary to the Jewish leaders, Jesus began his ministry among the poor of Galilee. For him the words I have been sent to preach the Good News to the poor were a living

35 reality. Not from above, but from below in todays language, we would say that Jesus had made a non-exclusive preferential option for the poor (preference, priolrity, soft corner; not neutral, but siding the poor), a necessary option for the whole Church, every Church, every Christians organization and person. Even every man and woman The first period of Jesus life can be studied under four headings: the Inaugural Message, Six Concrete Liberations, Jesus Teaching, and the Parables of the kingdom.

THE INAUGRURAL MESSAGE

The message was [presented in three ways by the gospels: According to Mk 1,15 & Mt 4, 17 Jesus at first proclaimed: The time has come; the kingdom of God is upon you; repent and believe the Good News In modern terms, Kingdom of God can be translated by Gods new World and Gods revolution: repent by change your life (cf. John the Baptist); and believe the Good news by hope Jesus thus proclaimed that God was dissatisfied with the present state of things and wanted a new world a new society, a new Israel, a revolution e wanted new villages/cities Jesus thus asked his contemporaries to hope, change their attitudes/values/ behavior, become members of the new community of believers in this message, and get involved in the making of Gods revolution still a very relevant message for us today. According to Lk 4, 16-22, Jesus announced the coming of the Jubilee or Sabbath year, the year of the liberation of the poor: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me; he has sent me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim release for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind; to let the oppressed go free; to proclaim the year of the Lords favor Jesus is speaking here of that total liberation of mankind from prisons, various forms of oppression (e.g., debts, unemployment, landlessness, officials) sickness and even death a liberation that the Jews were expected to bring about, in its elements, every 50th and 7th year, but that God had decided to make his own (cf. Gods year)

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The Beatitudes as originally proclaimed by Jesus. The gospels of Mt & Lk have 4 beatitudes in common: the poor, those who are hungry, those who cry, and the persecuted. The last one was certainly pronounced at a later stage of Jesus ministry. The poor are the exploited, the oppressed, those who cannot defend their rights, the voiceless. The hungry are the permanently malnourished; those below the poverty line, the children dying of poverty/malnutrition; and those who cry those who suffer so greatly that their sufferings cannot be hidden. Jesus proclaims such persons blessed fortunate, for Gods New World is coming, the liberation is at hand The inaugural message thus announces the complete (both material and spiritual) liberation of mankind, in its after-death (eschatological) and earthly dimensions. This is the way Jesus described heaven

Six Concrete Liberations

Not satisfied with preaching alone, Jesus began by his day-to-day, down-to-earth, concrete gestures to liberate his people in six concrete ways: Liberation from Sin: God forgives. Jesus forgives in his name (cf. Mk 2). One should therefore repent, change ones life, and live for the new world, the future. A follower of Jesus is not obsessed by guilt feelings, but liberated from the past, however dark it may be. Yet, Jesus did not speak so often about sin. He had many other immediate concerns Liberation from Sin: God forgives; Jesus forgives in his name (cf. Mk 2). On should therefore repent, change ones life and live for the new world, the future. A follower of Jesus is not obsessed by guilt feelings, but liberated from the past, however dark it may be. Yet, Jesus did not speak so often about sin. He had many other immediate concerns. Liberation from Poverty: the Bible is filled with Gods care for the material needs of mankind. And the gospels with Jesus concern for basic needs: food (John the Baptist,

37 Sermon on the Mount Dont worry about food. God knows your needs & wants them satisfied. 2 multiplications of bread, judgment, etc.) Water (often implicit judgment, glass of water to disciple), clothing (John, judgment), shelter (Jesus birth in s stable, judgment), and health (most miracles). Through his preaching and miracles, Jesus concretely helped the poor, his people. His gestures were the signs that Gods kingdom, the complete liberation, would take place. The means available to liberate the poor historically evolve, but there is no preaching of the Good News, no evangelization & missionary life, no Christianity, without a genuine concern for, and practical service of, the poor. Liberation from Oppressive Social Structures the Jewish social hierarchy was as follows high priest-religious and political leader Sanhedrin (70 important priests, Scribes (the educated elite), and representatives of rich families), priests, monks, aristocratic and rich families, scribes, and Pharisees or pious Jews; all the others belonged to the amharez the people of the land and comprised the poor, villagers, uneducated, sick, sinners, members of lower professions, tax collectors, prostitutes etc. gentiles were still lower in the social hierarchy In different ways, the priests, scribes, monks and Pharisees claimed to be the true Israel gods people. While receiving them properly, Jesus never crawled before them; he never showed them exaggerated respect, he never bent his knees before insolent might rather he lived the magnificat He put down the proud and his own instructions the first will be the last on the other hand, Jesus spent most of his time with the people of the land. He lived with them, ate with them, taught them, cured them etc. He raised the humble and made the last first. Jesus thus constantly denied the social hierarchy of Israel and avowed that the people of the land were Gods true people, the new Israel. Jesus mixing with the people of the land was the cause of the antagonism of the Jewish leaders against Jesus. Jesus was rejected because of his opinion for the poor Liberation from Oppressive Laws. The Jewish laws entered into all kinds of details about pollution, abstention from work on Sabbath etc. for Jesus, the Sabbath was made for the The Samaritans and

38 sake of man and not man for the Sabbath (Mk 2,27). The ordinary needs of men, even when there was no emergency, were more important than Jewish laws. Jesus often took care of people on the Sabbath and let his disciples break Jewish customs (e.g., plucking corn, not fasting, curing the man with the withered hand). No fear of chaos, confusion, abuses of freedom Paul similarly experienced his new faith as freedom from the lawThis attitude of Jesus towards the law was the second cause for the antagonism of the Jewish leaders. Liberation from Legalistic and Selfish Leaders (& from blind obedience). Two

preliminary remarks a) Jesus would have liked to be recognized and accepted as the liberator of Israel by the Jewish leaders. He was bound to obey them as religious and political leaders. As much as we are bound to obey our own leaders todaymark describes Jesus early relationship with the Jewish leaders in 2, 1-3,6, 3,22-30 &, 1-23. At the beginning Jesus was patient and understanding. He tried to explain his attitude. When the leaders refused to recognize Gods will to change Israel and establish the kingdom, Jesus however took a firm stand. When accused of being possessed by the devil, he publicly defended himself and condemned the Jewish leaders. Later on, he called them hypocrites and refused to dialogue with them by his liberating practice, Jesus taught us the true meaning of obedience and disobedience. As Peter said, we must obey God rather than men (Acts 4,19) Liberation from Loneliness & Lack of community: through his personal contacts,

friendly listening and encouragement, Jesus concretely helped and consoled the afflicted, lonely and sinners. He integrated people into the community of Israel. These concrete involvements of Jesus for his people undoubtedly show that God deeply wants the liberation of man here and now on earth besides his total and everlasting liberation after death.

Jesus teaching

39 Through his daily gestures and words, Jesus taught that God wanted a profound change in Israel, that is, the liberation of his people from sin, poverty, oppressive social structures, inhuman laws, blind obedience and loneliness. All this shows how much God cares about human suffering the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5,1-7,29 & Lk 6, 20-49) elaborated this teaching, which was strongly opposed by the Jewish leaders, about mans relationship with God and his fellow human beings.

Mans relationship with God

Who is God according to Jesus the God of the kingdom who is not satisfied with the present world and desires a new world, the Liberator, the Revolutionary, and the Judge, who will turn things upside down and defend the poor? The God of mercy, friend of the poor lonely and sinners. This is very clear in the parables of the Prodigal Son, Lost Sheep & Lost coin. The God of the Prophets, who is not concerned with externals, but with the hearts of people. The father, the daddy in whom people should have complete trust and confidence. Worries about ones food, clothing, life, etc., are therefore out of place. What is Gods will according to Jesus? The kingdom Hope and Change, The Various forms of liberation we explained. Justice and mercy, the Practice of the Beatitudes and new values in the social, economic and political orders. The New Israel and unity of mankind While todays people so often speak of Gods will to defend the status quo, Gods will is rather turned towards the future (liberation, change, hope, etc.) In his teaching on prayer, Jesus emphasizes the need for complete trust & confidence in God, and also for sincerity. But Jesus is also very discreet in asking for material things. The gospels contain very few petitions: what is good, the Holy Spirit, sending workers to the harvest, not to enter into temptation, this type of devil can be cast out only by prayer and fasting, justice & liberation etc. Jesus clearly refuses the request of the sons of Zebedee for prestige and power and asks them to suffer for him (Mk 10:35-40). He entreats the Father not to withdraw his disciples form this world, but to give them the

40 strength to face difficulties (John 17,15). In Gethsemane, he thus prayed: Not my will, but your will be done. In fact, God does not intend to liberate his people through numerous miracles, as we shall soon see in our reflections on suffering in the life of Jesus. Our teaching on prayer today sho9uld therefore be faithful to these two messages of Jesus: complete trust, sincerity and humility and, on the other hand, understanding of the fact that God seldom wants to protect people from suffering through miracles. Christian prayer should be both thoroughly confident and centered on Gods will and the courageous facing of suffering. The Our Father asks us to address our prayer to the loving father of the whole humanity. The first three petitions deal with the fulfillment of Gods designs, the complete liberation of all men/women and of the whole person. In short, we pray for the end of the world. We ask that God the liberator and Father, he fully known by everybody, that his Kingdom the new world come and that his liberating will be fully realized on earth the next two petitions deal with our own discovery/fulfillment of Gods will here and now on earth. We first ask for our daily bread, namely the bible (while makes us know Gods will today) and the Eucharist (which renders God alive in us). May we know today how God wants us to liberate the world and may we live according to this will. We then ask to live in peace with God and our brothers/sisters, incarnating Gods mercy in our own lives The last two petitions request that we remain faithful to Gods will at the ho8ur of suffering (trial) and temptation. May we stick to Gods will when it is tough. This is the prayer that Jesus taught us have we ever really prayed it?

Mans relationship with Man

Jesus challenges his contemporaries to practice a universal & forgiving love of their brothers and sisters. He wants deeds, not words. In the examples he gives, he singles out sinners, needy people, foreigners, etc. This is so because our merciful God has a soft corner for the poor. To practice mercy at that time of history also meant breaking down social barriers and customs. This is precisely what Jesus did, thus antagonizing the

41 Jewish leaders. As we shall see, love should moreover permeate our use of money and power. Jesus values in the economic, social & political fields are filled with his teaching on love. For a proper interpretation of love & forgiveness, see lecture 3, theme 2

The problems of the Kingdom

Jesus often spoke of Gods new world and revolution through parables these parables express Jesus personal search-his interior life-and his answers to various questions. They correspond to different moods and contain four main messages. The worth and beauty of Gods designs of liberation. So much so that those who understand consider the cost of their commitment (their struggles and sufferings) as insignificant or not worth mentioning Mankinds responsibility in building Gods new world. Gods kingdom is not only a gift; it does not come ready-made, but has to be built by man. Man can prevent its growth by his attitudes. See the parables of the Sower & the Invitees to the Banquet, and Jesus challenges to pout his words in practice, become members of his family, and build on the rock (Mt 7,21-7) the need for confidence and hope. This theme is expressed in various parables of contrast: the kingdom begins in a very humble way, but grows see the parables of the Leaven, Mustard Seed and Grain that grows alone. The need for patience, for the time has not yet come for God to eradicate all evils from the world. This is Jesus answer to the often-raised problems of injustices and innocent sufferings in the world: justice and liberation will certainly become a reality these parables are a great encouragement in our efforts to build a new India.

conclusion
In her depend contacts, the Church meets s world of untold poverty, inequalities, injustices and inhumanity a world also f lost/distorted values, population explosion, communalism, corruption, dictatorships, violence and exploitation/oppression. Far from being mainly

42 good and praise-worthy, the modern world is stinking. One must therefore become very critical and discerning in this context, new understanding of the churchs mission 1) to continue the previously described tasks (Of course with a new sprit), but especially to denounce/challenge todays evils and become the voice of the poor oppressed. Hence, the prophetic church. 20 to go still further and inspire/support peoples organizations and movements for their rights. Hence, the social justice church issue centered struggles in favor of indigenous people, Negroes, women, peace (and against nuclear arms, biological/chemical warfare, the Vietnam warfare, the Vietnam war, the arms race) environment, civil liberties, freedom, freedom of speech/press/radio, democracy, economic rights (e.g. land distribution, employment, proper wages), rights of political prisoners, immigrants, domestic workers, agricultural laborers, harijans, etc. Genuine evangelizations comes go mean the promotion of the values which are most relevant in todays social context: brotherhood, justice, equality, concern for the poorest, freedom, dialogue/tolerance/respect, peace, honesty, and so on Apostolic/prophetic spirituality of struggle/combat/cross. For prophets and instruments of social justice have unavoidably to face differences of views, misunderstandings (sometimes implying loss of name/reputation), opposition, and even persecutions (e.g. jail) and death. therefore a new-yet so old-set of Christian virtues to practice. There is