I once heard someone say, "If we cannot hear the cry of the oppressed then we are probably the oppressors." The work of the church - whether local or international must be centered around the work of Christ's love for the world and God's desire for restorative justice. Salvation is only complete when the two held together like a double helix.
How can we hold these two together today in our context?
"Any talk of salvation apart from action for the liberation of the exploited is false. It is part of a false theology that is determined by an idealist philosophy and not by the revelation of God as he is the in the Bible. Wherever we look in the Old Testament we find that the prophets and psalmists speak of salvation in terms of actual historic happenings: deliverance from famine, sickness, danger, enemies, and oppression. Therefore, for the biblical writers, to “know the Lord” is not a matter of intellectual contemplation or mystical union; it is a matter of doing justice and mercy in concrete situations. When Jeremiah comments sarcastically on the kings’ building program, he contrasts the king’s conduct with that of the king’s father and says: “He [the father] judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? Says the Lord (Jer 22:16). Those who claim to know the Lord but do evil are deceived. They are far from God. And the same teaching is given in the New Testament. There is no knowledge of God apart from the love of God, and there is no love of God apart from the love of the neighbor. “He who does not love does not know God.” Love and justice are distinct concepts, but where justice is denied love is certainly denied. If the economic order is such that the owners of land and capital can and do exploit and oppress the workers, then the commandment of love must mean more than marginal acts of personal charity; it must mean action to end exploitation. It must mean actions for liberation of which the Exodus is the model, and this must mean taking the side of the exploited and fighting against the exploiter. Fundamental to the theology of liberation is the refusal to allow a separation between truth and actions."
Leslie Newbigin “The Open Secret” p. 97
This is a challenge for America. Our history, societal structure and global position encourage us to be oppressors. We are called to sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Nicaragua where the poverty is as systemic as the corruption, I read Newbigin's words in a rather different light than I would from the U.S. The resounding question is HOW best to ACT to end exploitation. They tried revolution and it didn't work. Now they're going back to dictatorship. The answer is in the gospel, not in social uprising. But the work of changing hearts and minds is long and arduous. It is interesting to me that the Church here has little vision for social justice--they seem to accept that this is the way it is. Perhaps they are simply weary after all these years.
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