Stopover 12

    PCP II

    (A Kingdom Blessing: Good News to the Poor)

    our host: PCP II
     

    Central but Neglected. ‘Good news to the poor’ is an innocent little phrase in the gospel tradition. Its most remarkable characteristics are (1) the centrality it occupies in the consciousness and practice of Jesus, and (2) the disregard, neglect, and misconception it has suffered in the Church for centuries.

    Biblical Basis for Philippine Church. Do you remember meeting ‘good news to the poor’ in our journey? Well, it is one of the Kingdom-blessings.55 Happily ‘good news to the poor’ – notwithstanding our somewhat thoughtless handling of it in our tradition— is in fact the secure basis for two key-axioms of our contemporary Philippine Church. These two axioms that we profess are (1) We are the Church of the Poor; and (2) Our Church has a preferential option for the poor.

    Our roadmap takes us now along the banks of the Pasig river where in the early months of 1991, the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II) solemnly declared that we are the Church of the Poor. PCP II is our present host.

    Two Questions

    Who and What. The phrase ‘good news to the poor’ is artlessly simple and clear. Yet it has been made either invisible or prettified with such an overlay of misconceptions or rationalizations that patience is needed to restore it to its natural condition. We will work away with the help of two questions: Who are the poor? What is the good news?

    Unreflected Responses. Who are the poor? In the past, we, religious and clergy, living in relative comfort, were too quick to reply ‘poor in spirit.’ Thank God, this situation is changing.

    And what is the good news? ‘But, of course, the good news is the Word of God,’ – might go an unreflected response, followed by a spirited distribution of Holy Bibles to the colonies of the urban poor.

    Jesus would beg to disagree with both responses.

    More than ever, we need our Third Look eyeglasses.

    The Poor: Who Are They?

    When Jesus said he was proclaiming good news to the poor, what poor was he referring to? Which poor? The spiritually poor? Or the really, materially poor?

    Our unequivocal answer is: the really poor. Jesus’ proclamation of good news was to the really poor. We have three sets of data which point to this: (a) Isaiah, the background and inspiration of Jesus’ message, meant the really poor; (b) ‘Poor’ in the gospels always refers to the really poor, the one exception being Matthew’s editorializing addition; (c) When the gospels speak of blessedness and good news to the poor, the standard formulation simply says ‘poor.’

    Poor in the Book of Isaiah.

    The background and inspiration for ‘poor’ as found on Jesus’ lips is the ’anawim or ’aniyim in the Book of Isaiah. Recall our past signposts on Jesus and Isaiah. In particular, it is obvious that Jesus’ ‘good news to the poor’ is lifted right out of Isa 61:1. We must then examine the meaning of ‘poor’ in the Book of Isaiah. Here are all the texts in which Isaiah mentions the ‘anawim or ‘aniyim .

    The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people:

    It is you who have devoured the vineyard,

    the spoil of the ‘aniyim is in your houses. (Isa 3:14)

    What do you mean by crushing my people, and grinding the face of the ‘aniyim? says the Lord God of hosts. (Isa 3:15)

    Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees,

    who write oppressive statutes,

    to turn aside the needy from justice

    and to rob the ‘aniyim of my people of their right,

    that widows may be your spoil,

    and that you may make the orphans your prey!

    (Isa 10:1-2)

    With righteousness he shall judge the poor,

    and decide with equity for the ‘anawim of the earth;

    he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. (Isa 11:4)

    What will one answer the messengers of the nation?

    ‘The Lord has founded Zion,

    and the ‘aniyim among his people

    will find refuge in her.’ (Isa 14:32)

    For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city.

    He lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust.

    The foot tramples it, the feet of the ‘aniyim , the steps of the needy. (Isa 26:5-6)

    The ‘anawim shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,

    and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. (Isa 29:19)

    The villainies of villains are evil;

    they devise wicked devices to ruin the ‘aniyim with lying words,

    even when the plea of the needy is right. (Isa 32:7)

    When the ‘aniyim and needy seek water, and there is none,

    And their tongue is parched with thirst,

    I the Lord will answer them,

    I the God of Israel will not forsake them. (Isa 41:17)

    Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;

    break forth, O mountains, into singing!

    For the Lord has comforted his people,

    and will have compassion on his ‘aniyim. (Isa 49:13)

    Therefore hear this, you who are ‘aniyim,

    who are drunk, but not with wine:

    Thus says your Sovereign, the Lord,

    your God who pleads the cause of his people:

    See, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;

    you shall drink no more

    from the bowl of my wrath. (Isa 51:21-22)

    O afflicted [‘aniyah] one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,

    I am about to set your stones in antimony,

    and lay your foundations with sapphires. (Isa 54:11)

    … Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

    and bring the homeless ‘aniyim into your house;

    when you see the naked, to cover them,

    and not to hide yourself from your own kin? (Isa 58:7)

    The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

    because the Lord has anointed me;

    he has sent me to bring good news to the ‘anawim;

    to bind up the brokenhearted,

    to proclaim liberty to the captives,

    and release to the prisoners. (Isa 61:1)

    Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool;

    what is the house that you would build for me,

    and what is my resting place?

    All these things my hand has made,

    and so all these things are mine, says the Lord.

    But this is the one to whom I will look,

    to the ‘aniyim and contrite in spirit,

    who trembles at my word. (Isa 66:1-2)

         Isaiah’s ´Anawim: Really Poor. Even without the help of a dictionary, and just by looking at the context, we have the answer. Poor, ‘anawim or ‘aniyim in the Book of Isaiah means, with one possible exception, the really poor, not the spiritually poor. This is so particularly in passages where he speaks of justice, liberation, and joy for the poor.

    Furthermore, the more accurate meaning is ‘poor and oppressed.’ Recall that the root word is ‘anah, a word which connotes some form of oppression or suppression.56 Very frequently this oppression is due, as in the above contexts, to economic poverty. Since Jesus was inspired by Isaiah, Jesus was, more likely than not, talking of good news to the really poor.

    Poor in the Gospels

    There are two separate but complementary considerations here: (1) the use of the word ptochós; and (2) the context in which the poor is spoken about.

    When the gospels refer to the poor, they use the Greek word ptochós (plural: ptochói). In the world in which Jesus lived, ptochói were people reduced to begging, crouched in helplessness and destitution 57. Here are all the gospel texts in which ptochós is mentioned; from the contexts themselves, it is clear that the gospels speak of the really poor.

    ‘Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.’ And they scolded her. But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me.’ (Mk 14:5-7 = Mt 26:9-11; also Jn 12:5-8)

    You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. (Mk 10:21 = Mt 19:21 = Lk 18:22)

    But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind (Lk 14:13); Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. (Lk 14:21)

    There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. (Lk 16:19-22)

    Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much. (Lk 19:8)

    He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.’ (Lk 21:1-4 = Mk 12:42)

    Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, ‘buy what we need for the festival’; or, that he should give something to the poor. (Jn 13:29)

         Plus the texts we are presently inquiring about: … the poor have the good news brought to them. (Mt 11:5 = Lk 7:22)

    … to proclaim the good news to the poor. (Lk 4:18)

    Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. (Lk 6:20)

         Poor ‘Ptochoi’ in the Gospels: Really Poor. Poor in the gospels always means the really poor except in the one case when Matthew 5:3 introduces an editorial ‘in spirit.’ Poor are the really poor in the gospels, unless it is qualified; and it is qualified only once, and not by Jesus but by Matthew!

    The Blessedness of the Poor.

    The blessedness of the poor is a gospel theme which is variously expressed as ‘good news to the poor’ or ‘blessed are the poor.’ Every time the gospels speak on this theme, the standard formulation always simply says ‘poor’ except in the one single instance of Matthew’s ‘poor in spirit’:

    The poor have the good news brought to them. (Mt 11:5)

    The poor have the good news brought to them. (Lk 7:22)

    To bring good news to the poor. (Lk 4:18)

    Blessed are you who are poor. (Lk 6:20)

    Blessed are the poor in spirit. (Mt 5:3)

         The Old and Standard Formulation. In other words, the formulation or language for this fragment of early Christian tradition is normally ‘good news to the poor,’ not some other idiom, such as ‘good news to the poor in spirit.’ What does this evidence indicate? It is a strong indicator that Jesus and the tradition spoke simply of the really poor and that Mt 5:3, ‘poor in spirit,’ in keeping with a Matthean tendency to moralize, is an editorial modification by Matthew. It is worth noting, by the way, that even Matthew himself says simply ‘poor’ in reporting out this tradition in Mt 11:5.

    Other Instances

    Evidently the Really Poor. We may add the following reflection. There are other occasions when the gospels talk about good news, blessing or happiness for the poor, and, evidently, to the really poor:

    The poor man, after death, is to be with Abraham. (Lk 16:22a)

    Zacchaeus gives half of his possessions to the poor. (Lk 19:8)

    God fills the hungry with good things. (Lk 1:53)

    Jesus counsels the rich young man to give to the poor. (Mt 19:21; Mk 10:21)

    The Poor in Jesus’ Time. As you walk through the gospel pages, you will meet:

      • beggars (Mk 10:46)

      • casual workers (Mt 20:1-9)

      • tenants (cf. Mt 21:33)

      • slaves (Mt 8:6)

      • people in debt (Lk 16:5)

      • the poor of the land (Jn 7:49)

    These are examples of the ‘anawim in Jesus’ time. And no wonder such people existed, if we keep in mind some features of the life of the common people: • Payment of taxes and tribute. It was double taxation: (a) tithes and other dues paid to the temple and priests, and (b) tribute and other taxes paid to Rome.

    • Indebtedness. This was quite common and widespread in Jesus time (see Lk 16:5).

    • Loss of land. This too had been a perennial problem for some centuries.

    • Dislocations due to the raiding activities of Roman armies in towns and villages.

     • Breakdown of traditional village-based social structure; for example, the destruction of family and clan economic unity.

    • Peasants being reduced to becoming debt slaves, tenants, day laborers, or unemployed (see Mt 20:1-9), while the native aristocracy increased land-holdings and power.

    • Absence of common people’s political participation.

     The Clear Lines on Their Faces. I hope that our efforts at restoration have helped to flick away some of the incrustations of a long tradition and brought out some of the clear lines on the faces of Jesus’ ‘poor.’ It was to the really poor that Jesus wanted to bring good news. And now we turn to the other question: What? What was his good news to them?

    The Good News: What Is It?

    Difficulty. What good news did Jesus want to announce to the poor? An easy task has been rendered difficult by the phrase ‘good news’ itself.

    We have been so used to equate good news or gospel with the ‘word of God’ or ‘the Christian Faith’ or ‘the saving death and resurrection of Christ’ that ‘good news to the poor’ has come to mean bringing the Bible to the poor or to catechize them about the truths of the Christian Faith. Under certain circumstances, that may or may not be the best news for the poor, but in any case that is not what Jesus would mean or do.

    ‘Good news,’ in the time of Jesus, could refer to the birth of a future emperor or his arrival in a city. It was a secular word.

    In its religious usage, it could refer to the saving death and resurrection of Christ; this is St. Paul’s use of the word (1 Cor 15:1-3).

    Jesus never used it to refer to his death and resurrection. Like Isaiah, he used it, first, to refer to the coming of a new earth, the Kingdom of God.

    Secondly, in this stopover, we encounter still another use of ‘good news’ in the phrase ‘good news to the poor.’

    Misleading Platitudes. The difficult task turns out to be rather easy. Food, land, homes, security, human rights, justice, liberation from poverty—that is what good news to the poor is. It is the most obvious meaning … and the most correct! Third Look eyeglasses should have been superfluous. However, experience has shown that we should be careful with some well-meaning but misleading notions. These usually take the form of platitudes, spoken and unspoken:

    ‘Jesus is with you in your poverty. (Subconsciously: You can remain in your poverty.) With Jesus you can bear it all.’

    ‘You are God’s special favorites. God loves and blesses the poor. You can bear your poverty with the strength he lavishes on you.’

    ‘Jesus loves you in a special way and died for your sins on the cross.’

    Wait for the Second Statement. In passing, let us make ourselves conscious of a certain ambivalence of many of our conventional platitudes. We say: ‘God is good.’ ‘God loves you,’ etc. Any such statement can have two possible meanings and depends on a second statement for its real meaning. For example, the first statement ‘God loves you,’ is clarified by a second statement which can either be ‘Therefore, be patient in your suffering,’ or ‘Therefore, God is in solidarity with you in your struggle.’ When we preachers or theologians say something which has the ring of a religious adage, the listener should wait or ask for the next sentence.

    Many Kinds. There are many kinds of good news. There is good news for students, for teachers, for peasants, for mothers, for business people. For the poor there is still another. Is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount the good news to the poor? No. That is not specifically good news to the poor. That is good news for everyone (including, of course, the poor). What about the dogmatic truths, packaged during seminary days and repackaged for diocesan catechisms and homilies? Not so, either. Assuming it is good theology—an assumption that needs to be tested—it would be good news for all Christians.

    Gospel to the Poor: Justice and Liberation. The gospel to the poor is the good news to the poor of any era: food, land, homes, health. In summary, justice and liberation from poverty and oppression! The gospel to the poor and oppressed must at least include this. Many other blessings, among them moral and religious, go into the making of gospel to the poor, but it cannot be gospel without justice and liberation.

    A Word to Pastors and Preachers. Therefore, a reminder to us pastors and preachers: proclaiming the ‘gospel to the poor’ is proclaiming liberation and justice (at least).

    Passion, Not Words. The words ‘justice and liberation’ are household words in the Church today. The actual words ‘justice and liberation’ are not found on the lips of Jesus. The passion for them is. Words matter less.

    A Spiritual Work. Justice for the poor is not just a corporal work of mercy (as opposed to spiritual work of mercy). This should be a familiar notion by now. But because of its importance, I beg indulgence for the repetition. In biblical categories, ‘spiritual’ is any reality—land, rice, prayer, religious reading, political action, human rights—in which we find traces of the Spirit or God’s life-giving energy, and which is therefore animated and transformed by that Spirit.

    Greek Split. Greek thought, in which our catechesis and theology have been expressed for so long, splits reality into spirit and matter; spiritual here means a reality which is non-material or things pertaining to the soul. Here, prayer is spiritual; feeding the hungry is corporal. Not so for Jesus and the Bible.

    Spiritual and Gospel. Land for the landless, rice for the hungry, justice for the exploited can be the most spiritual concern of a Christian who understands what Jesus was all about. Justice and liberation of the poor, for the Bible, is not a corporal work of mercy, as my former theology used to say; it is a spiritual work! In fact, it was a constituent component of the Kingdom of God and thus of the mission of Jesus. It was part of the gospel of Jesus! All of which makes us ask: and what gospel do we preach in the Church today? PCP II, our present host, is a break-through. But of this, later.

    The Poor: Not Mere Beneficiaries of Good Will. ‘Good news to the poor’ is not to be misconstrued as if the poor were mere recipients and beneficiaries, while the rich and the middle-class are their great benefactors. Not at all. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The poor today are awakening. They are setting up movements and organizations for liberation. They are enabling themselves to move away from centuries of passivity and resignation towards the creation of a more humane history for all of us. The task of the rest of us is to support, to facilitate, to accompany.

    In the formation of basic Christian communities among the poor, one may discern the following types: (1) the purely liturgical; the Christian community gathers around the word of God and the sacraments, (2) the developmental; the members engage in activities which improve their life—religio-cultural, economic, political, social—within the present social system, (3) the liberational; the members are aware that poverty is the effect of an unjust social system and are committed to change that system. It is especially this third type that offers excellent opportunities for accompaniment to the non-poor who want to be in solidarity with the poor.

    Part of Our Christian Heritage? We have just taken a look at the biblical meaning of ‘good news to the poor.’ How much of this biblical, not any other, meaning, is part of our Christian heritage today? In seminary courses? In religion classes? In catechetical programs? In homilies? In normal consciousness? After PCP II, a case can be made for a qualified positive response. But caution is called for. In order to avoid complacency? Yes, but there are better reasons. One, do we really understand PCP II? Do we understand its biblical underpinnings—provocative underpinnings? Two, do we do it?

    In any case, I think one can safely say that ‘good news to the poor’ – understood as justice and liberation – is not normally seen as part of the ‘core teachings’ of our Faith. We normally do not take it to be central to our Faith. Jesus does. Pry open Jesus’ consciousness and you will find it there.

    Look carefully likewise at his practice and you will find it there. We will now proceed to do this with the help of roadsigns that contain (1) Jesus mission-statements; and (2) his actions and teaching.

    Good News to the Poor: How Central for Jesus?

    In Mission Statements

    Central in Jesus’ Mission Statements. Let us once more look at his mission statements and review the listing of the various Kingdom-blessings. With or without your eyeglasses, you will notice that there is one, and only one, item which is always mentioned and never omitted: ‘good news or blessing to the poor.’ Conversely, the other items—for example, sight to the blind—is mentioned in one recital but not in another. And we are dealing, not with secondary or off-the-cuff statements. They are key-statements, the mission statements.

    The blind receive their sight,

    the lame walk,

    the lepers are cleansed,

    the deaf hear,

    the dead are raised,

    and the poor have good news brought to them. (Mt 11:2-6 = Lk 7:18-23)

    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.’

    And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ (Lk 4:16-21; cf. Isa 61:1-2)

    Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.

    Blessed are the hungry …

    … the sorrowful

    … the pure in heart,

    … etc. (Lk 6:20 = Mt 5:3)

         Always Mentioned. Every time Jesus opens his mouth to talk about his mission, good news to the poor is always on his lips! Bukang bibig, as we would say in Pilipino. An obvious but overlooked fact.

    Privileged Position. Take note, too, of a small but significant detail. ‘Good news to the poor’ is always in a noteworthy position in the enumeration. It is either the climactic last or the prominent first.

    Still another little detail to note: in the gospel of Luke, it is Jesus’ very first words in the very first public statement of his adult life.

    Etched in Jesus’ Consciousness. There it is, tattooed in Jesus’ consciousness and chafing to find outward expression in his mission statements. And yet it is hardly a passing thought in our present theology, preaching, and catechism.

    In His Actions

    Action among the Sick, Possessed, Multitudes, Sinners. Mission-statements, even those of Jesus, are words and nothing more, unless they are backed up by deeds. So what about Jesus’ actions and teachings? Were these good news to the poor? Let us put his practice to the test. For this, we sample a typical day:

    Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. (Mk 3:7-12) Here we see Jesus stretching his healing hand over the sick, the possessed, and the multitudes. ‘Sinners’ may be added to this list.

    Not All but Many of Them: The Poor of Palestine. Who are these people in fact? Are not most of them the poor of the Palestine of Jesus’ time? In a sociologically poor area like Palestine, the majority of such people, though admittedly not all, would have been the poor. The sick would have been the malnourished poor, vulnerable to various illnesses. The ‘possessed’ would have been the mentally ill, victims of malnutrition and poverty. The multitudes: these were mostly the unschooled poor of the land attracted by a popular preacher and wonder worker.

    And ‘Sinners’ Too. Many of the so-called sinners would have also been, not necessarily people of evil morals, but rather the poor. We can discern about three categories of people to whom the label ‘sinners’ was given:

      1. real sinners, i.e., those that can be presumed to have moral guilt, e.g., Mk 2:5;

      2. people forced into dubious professions due to poverty, e.g., prostitutes, thieves;

      3. the uninstructed poor who did not know their ‘catechism’ who were considered sinners by the religious establishment.

    Categories 2 and 3 tell us that frequently, in the gospels, ‘sinners’ are really the poor. It is the flesh-and-blood poor who frequently lie concealed behind the word ‘sinners.’

    Jesus’ Actions and Good News to the Poor. Since the gospel pages depict the healing touch of Jesus on the sick, possessed, multitudes, and sinners, we can say that Jesus’ actions and ministry were good news to the poor of his time.

    Poverty, Not Morals. Did Jesus proclaim good news to the poor because they were subjectively good, simple or holy, or for any other moral qualification? No, he proclaimed good news to them primarily because they were poor. The focus of Jesus’ remarks (cf. e.g., Lk 16:19-31; Lk 6:20; Mk 10:21, etc.) was not the goodness of the poor but the poverty of the poor.

    Non-Poor Outcasts. Did Jesus’ concern and care also go out to outcasts who were not poor? Yes, of course. Tax-collectors, lepers, children, women, possessed, sinners, the sick—these suffered from various forms of marginalization: cultural, psychological, religious. Jesus cared for anyone who, in any way, was suffering, oppressed or outcast.

    Not to Apply the Word ‘Poor’. However, it is not wise to apply the word ‘poor’ to these non-poor outcasts. The reason is that strictly speaking, biblical terminology, reserves ‘poor’ (ptochós) to the really poor and oppressed. We thus avoid unnecessary confusion. It is advisable to reserve ‘poor’ to the really poor and oppressed. We would also avoid awkward statements such as a pastor’s: ‘I play golf every other day with Mr. Millionaire because after all he is poor in so many ways.’

    Jesus, Children and Feminism. One of the truly praiseworthy developments of our time is the concern for women and children. That Jesus had a special regard for children is a common knowledge (Mk 10:13-16).

    The multi-layered oppression of women in history, not excluding Church history, is breaking more and more into our consciousness. We are seeing through to the inhumanity of patriarchy, the institutional domination of females by males with the conscious or unconscious claim that the male is normative for humanity. In response, both women and men have espoused feminism, a movement which seeks to restore to women their equal rights as humans.

    Was Jesus a feminist? Did his Kingdom-practice include what we would consider feminist concerns today? Perhaps not in the way and to the extent that is expected today. The gospels have left us a handful of indicators. The evangelists credit Jesus with the following actuations. In his dealings with women he went beyond or against the accepted ways of his time. Women could become his disciples and close followers (Mk 15:40-41). He didn’t seem to subscribe to the levirate custom of successive brothers having to take the same woman as wife (Mk 12:18-24). The hemorrhaging woman was not only cured but also endearingly addressed ‘daughter’ (Mk 5:34), while male disciples often came in for a scolding (Mk 8:17-21). The prominence and intelligence of women in the passion and resurrection scenes (Mk 15:40-41; Lk 23:27, 49, 55; 24:10; 22, 24) seem to be not only a faithful recording of fact but also a (delayed?) tribute both to the women and to Jesus who allowed them to be among his disciples. Jesus used feminine metaphors and parables. There would seem enough to permit the claim that Jesus and his women disciples, as archived in the gospel records, sowed the first small grain of feminism in the Christian tradition.

    Jesus and Rich Outcasts. What would Jesus’ attitude be towards a rich outcast, e.g., a tax-collector? Jesus would care for him in so far as he is an ostracized tax-collector. At the same time, Jesus would put his wealth to the test: ‘Sell what you have and give to the poor.’ (cf. Mk 2:14; Mk 10:17-21; Lk 19:1-10)

    In His Teaching

    Jesus’ Prophetic Teachings on Property and Possessions. Both his mission statements and his practice were good news to the poor. They have weathered our scrutiny.

    But did Jesus’ healing touch alleviate the poverty of the poor? It would seem not, at least not directly. And so we turn to his teachings. After all Jesus was not just a healer. He was also a prophet-teacher. We inspect his teachings, particularly on riches and poverty, on property and possessions.

    And Jesus said to a rich man, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ (Mk 10:21)

    Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. (Lk 12:33-34)

    Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. (Lk 6:21 and 24)

    There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. (Lk 16:19-23)

    No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Mt. 6:24)

    Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. (Lk 12:15)

    The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God. (Lk 12:16-21)

    How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. (Mk 10:23-25)

         Director of the Department for the Alleviation of Poverty. Such prophetic utterances would make Jesus an ideal director of the Department of the ´Anawim. In our time there is a suspicion that some government institutions, professedly set up to safeguard the interests of labor, spend more energy defending the interests of capital. There is no mistaking Jesus. He has blessings for the poor and warnings for the rich. He comes in strong against acquisitiveness and the consumerist spirit. He advocates sharing goods with the poor. ‘Alms’ in his time was an exercise of justice (What is given to the beggar really belongs to him!), not of charity.

    His is a prophetic voice in the first century, not the methodical analysis of a twenty-first century economist. But there is no doubt for whom his good news is. If you were among the ‘anawim in Jesus’ time, would not his words have a happy ring in your ears? Would they not be addressing your situation of poverty?

    Substantial or Structural Liberation? Since Jesus is doing quite well, let us press a little further. Did Jesus’ actions and teaching offer structural liberation and justice to the poor and oppressed? Did his actions and teaching liberate the poor by changing social and economic structures?

    Here we ask the question about what Jesus did in the economic, not cultural, sphere. Of course, any change in cultural attitude in favor of the poor, such as that fostered by Jesus, would be a contribution to economic change. But in order to make our inquiry satisfactory, I choose to limit inquiry to the economic domain. We examine Jesus’ teachings more closely and scrutinize his stand or platform on such questions as possessions and property, social justice.

    Jesus, looking at him [the rich man] loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ (Mk 10:21)

    Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Lk 12:33-34)

         What is Jesus’ stand on possessions, assets, goods, wealth? Distribute. Share. It is disarmingly simple. Naive? Let us approach the matter this way. These words of Jesus constitute a prophetic view of things, for Jesus was a prophetic figure, not an economist. But if this prophetic vision of Jesus were to provide inspiration for a modern-day economic program, what kind of human community would emerge?

    To Each According to Need. Whatever our answer to that might be, his words did provide stimulus to a group of first century Christians. They attempted to translate his prophetic vision into actual life (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35; 5:1-10). What happened?

    They had all things in common.

    They sold their possessions and goods, like land and houses (from each according to his capacity), and distributed them to all, as any had need (to each according to his need).

    No one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own.

    There was not a needy person among them.

         Vision, Not Speculation. Some western interpreters say that this was an ideal which was never practiced. Or, this practice was motivated by the expectation of the imminent return of Christ. That might be. But the issue before us does not concern deductions and speculations. It concerns a question. Can the spirit of Jesus’ vision capture the imagination of Christian societies today?

    Did Jesus Talk About Social Justice?

    Social Justice. The phrase ‘social justice,’ is, part of our standard vocabulary today. It means justice for workers, peasants, the jobless, women, children, indigenous peoples and other targets of injustice in society. Our roadsigns thus far clearly indicate that Jesus was emphatic about social justice. But did Jesus say or teach anything more explicit on it? Well, he did. But it has been locked up in the bodega and waits for an honorable release.

    Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! (Mt 23:23-24) Word Combination. The core message of Mt 23:23 is simply this: the more important matters of religion are social justice. How so? Because justice and mercy and faithfulness in that statement of Jesus is equivalent to what we know today as ‘social justice.’ This meaning will emerge when we do some dusting of antecedents in the Hebrew Scriptures. Taken singly, here are Hebrew words with their corresponding meanings: tsedaqah [tsdq] = justice or righteousness

    mishpat [mshpt] = justice or right

    checed [chcd] = compassion, mercy or steadfast love

    ´emet or ´emunah [´emn] = truth, faithfulness

         A combination of two or more of these words means justice in society for the poor, marginalized and oppressed, social justice.

    On the other hand, there is no tsedaqah, mishpat, checed, ‘emet where there is shedding of innocent blood, unjust laws and court, oppression of the poor, widows, the fatherless. The following texts are instructive:

    For your hands are defiled with blood,

    and your fingers with iniquity;

    your lips have spoken lies,

    your tongue mutters wickedness.

    No one brings suit justly [tsdq],

    no one goes to law honestly [‘emn];

    they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,

    conceiving mischief and begetting iniquity….

    Their works are works of iniquity,

    and deeds of violence are in their hands.

    Their feet run to evil,

    and they rush to shed innocent blood;

    their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;

    desolation and destruction are in their highways.

    The way of peace they do not know,

    and there is no justice [mshpt] in their paths.

    Their roads they have made crooked;

    no one who walks in them knows peace.

    Therefore justice [mshpt] is far from us,

    and righteousness [tsdq] does not reach us;

    we wait for light, and lo! there is darkness;

    and for brightness, but we walk in gloom….

    We all growl like bears;

    like doves we moan mournfully.

    We wait for justice [mshpt], but there is none;

    for salvation, but it is far from us…

    transgressing, and denying the Lord,

    and turning away from following our God,

    talking oppression and revolt,

    conceiving lying words and uttering them from the heart.

    Justice [mshpt] is turned back,

    and righteousness [tsdq] stands at a distance;

    for truth [‘emt] stumbles in the public square,

    and uprightness cannot enter.

    Truth [‘emt] is lacking,

    and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.

    The Lord saw it, and it displeased him

    that there was no justice [mshpt]. (Isa 59:3-15)

    How the faithful city has become a whore,

    she that was full of justice [mshpt]!

    Righteousness [tsdq] lodged in her, but now murderers….

    Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves.

    Every one loves a bribe and runs after gifts.

    They do not defend the orphan,

    and the widows’ cause does not come before them. (Isa 1:21-23)

    For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,

    and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting;

    and he expected justice [mshpt],

    but saw bloodshed;

    righteousness [tsdq] ,

    but heard a cry! (Isa 5:7)

         Salvation in the future means the presence of tsedaqah, mishpat, checed and´emet: And I will restore your judges as at the first,

    and your counselors as at the beginning.

    Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness [tsdq], the faithful city.

    Zion shall be redeemed by justice [mshpt],

    and those in her who repent, by righteousness [tsdq]. (Isa 1:26-27)

    For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;

    authority rests upon his shoulders;

    and he is named

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

    His authority shall grow continually,

    and there shall be endless peace

    for the throne of David and his kingdom.

    He will establish and uphold it

    with justice [mshpt] and with righteousness [tsdq]

    from this time onward and forevermore.

    The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (Isa 9:6-7)

    Until a Spirit is poured out on us from on high,

    and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,

    and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.

    Then justice [mshpt] will dwell in the wilderness,

    and righteousness [tsdq] abide in the fruitful field. (Isa 32:15-16)

    The Lord is exalted, he dwells on high;

    he filled Zion with justice [mshpt] and righteousness [tsdq]. (Isa 33:5)

    And I will take you for my wife forever;

    I will take you for my wife in righteousness [tsdq]

    and in justice [mshpt], in steadfast love, and in mercy [chcd].

    I will take you for my wife in faithfulness;

    and you shall know the Lord. (Hos 2:19-20)

         To do mishpat and chcd: this is what life is all about: He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

    and what does the Lord require of you

    but to do justice [mshpt], and to love kindness [chcd]

    and to walk humbly with your God. (Mic 6:8)

         Yahweh himself gives a self-definition in terms of tsedaqah, mishpat. Let those who boast, boast in this,

    that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord;

    I act with steadfast love [chcd], justice [mshpt]

    and righteousness [tsdq] in the earth,

    for in these things I delight, says the Lord. (Jer 9:24)

         From the above sample texts, it is clear that: • tsedaqah, mishpat, checed and´emet in one or other combination is equivalent to justice in society or social justice

    • tsedaqah, mishpat, checed and ‘emet are central to the message of the prophets.

         Jesus and Social Justice. And how does it stand with Jesus? He lays the following charge on his adversaries: ‘you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law, justice and mercy and faith’ (Mt 23:23).

    The ‘Law,’ or better the ‘Instruction,’ refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, attributed to Moses. Clearly it contains more than laws; it contains history. The Torah functioned as the religio-civil constitution of the Israelite people. According to Jesus, the weightier matters of such a Torah is social justice.

    Dill, mint and cummin are tiny herbs and spices. Jesus suggests that his adversaries put more importance on small things and forget the bigger issue of social justice. The pharisees are blind guides, filtering out a small insect and swallowing a camel!

    Tithing—the giving of one tenth of one’s produce or income to the temple and priests, and at least, indirectly to God—was a sacral duty in Jesus’ culture. Of greater moment than that sacred duty – according to Jesus – is one’s practice of social justice.

    Weightier than Worship. In fact, social justice is so weighty that, in certain situations (Mt 9:13;12:7), it is weightier than worship of God! Jesus makes his own the words of Hosea: ‘Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy [checed], and not sacrifice’ (Mt 9:13;12:7; Hos 6:6).58 Sacrifice here refers to the offering of animals in the temple, signifying worship of God.

    Jesus Was Serious. Was Jesus serious? Evidently. Your fate as a goat destined for eternal fire or as a sheep destined for the Kingdom is decided by ‘compassion,’ and perhaps, we may add, ‘rather than worship.’ Compassion takes the form of food, drink, clothing, comfort you held out or withheld to the least of his brethren. (Mt 25:31ff).59 Compassion takes the form of agrarian reform, cancellation of debts, release of slaves, rest for the land (Lk 4:16-20).-

    Are We Serious? And so, in a way, it is a wonder that the justice apostolate has had to be thrust on the Church, as it were, by the circumstances of history, and considered by some as a passing fad. One may be allowed to wonder, too, how much interiorization and owning there have been of the many Church statements in behalf of justice and the poor of the past decades.

    The Weightier Matters for a Typical Christian. It would be educational to ask even a well-educated Christian today what he would consider the weightier matters of religion. As for me, these consisted at one time in certain abstract truths such as three persons in one divine nature, the divinity and humanity of Christ and similar truths. I have since discovered that God and Jesus can very well take care of themselves and that there are co-humans who could use a little more tsedaqah in their lives.

    What About the Rich?

    We may well wonder at this point: why is it all so heavily in favor of the poor? And we wonder with reason. We search for an answer to this phenomenon. My own search ends with two realizations: (1) We cannot invent the gospel story. We cannot create another gospel story. (2) This phenomenon allows us a peek into the heart of Jesus.

    Jesus’ Relationships with the Rich. Now we ask solicitously: what was Jesus’ view of the rich or the non-poor? How did he relate to them? The rich in Jesus’ life seem to be one of the following:

      1. critiqued by Jesus, e.g., ‘Woe to you rich’ (Lk 6:24; 16:19-31; Mt 6:25-33);

      2. challenged by Jesus, e.g., the man/ruler who was asked by Jesus to sell his possessions and share with the poor (Mk 10:21). Such a challenge does not mean antagonism on the part of Jesus. On the contrary, according to Mark, ‘Jesus looking upon him, loved him’ (Mk 10:21);

      3. converted and shared his/her riches, e.g., Zacchaeus (Lk 19:1-10), like a significant few wealthy ones in our time;

      4. had faith in Jesus (and presumably, in everything Jesus stood for, including justice and liberation for the poor), and not an oppressor, e.g., the women who followed Jesus (Lk 8:2); the Roman centurion (Lk 7:1-10).

    In virtually every instance, even the friendliest encounter with the non-poor, for example, at dinner with the pharisees, there is a moment of critique or challenge or conversion or faith.

    Jesus Died for Rich and Poor. But did Jesus not die for rich and poor alike? Yes, he eventually died for rich and poor. But while he was living, he stood for justice and liberation for the poor, and this stand for the ‘anawim, in all likelihood, had something to do with his death at the hands of the powerful and wealthy of his time.

    Kingdom Proclaimed to Rich Also. And did not Jesus proclaim the good news of the Kingdom to all, rich and poor alike? Was salvation not offered to all alike? Yes, he proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom to all alike. Few of Jesus’ emotions are recorded, but Mark, as we have just noted, goes out of his way to depict Jesus’ love for a rich person. There is no lack of genuine love and concern for the rich in the New Testament. The invitation to the kingdom is for all. But because of the nature of the Kingdom and its demands, it was often uncomfortable news for the wealthy and powerful (e.g., Mk 10:21-22; Lk 14:15-24.).

    Ministry to the Rich. Since Jesus also had a solicitude for the rich, should not the Church today also minister to the rich? Yes. The only question is ‘how?’ It is not enough that the rich appropriate the merits of Jesus’ death in baptism and nurture it in the sacraments. The rich must also be asked to live according to the Kingdom summons of Jesus. Playing golf or tennis with the rich while saving their souls would not exactly be Jesus’ ministry to the rich of his time.

    Good News to the Poor and the Philippine Church

    PCP II and the Church of the Poor. PCP II outdoes itself. Its declaration that we are a Church of the Poor must be a fruit of its sensitivity to the signs of the times and to the Spirit. Never mind that it does not base itself on the exegesis of Jesus’ ‘good news to the poor.’ This is more to its credit than debit. For PCP II drew life intuitively and directly from the love of the poor and from God. Here are some of the more substantive statements of this remarkable group of people, who notably belonged not only to the middle class and the rich, but also to the poor.

      - In the Philippines today, God calls us most urgently to serve the poor and the needy. The poverty of at least half of the population is a clear sign that sin has penetrated our social structures (par. 122).

      - Poverty in the sense of destitution is not God’s will for anyone. Vatican II teaches that ‘every man has the right to possess a sufficient amount of the earth’s goods for himself and his family.’ To the shanty dwellers of Favela dos Alagados, Pope John Paul II forcefully asserted: "Do not say that it is God’s will that you remain in a condition of poverty, disease, unhealthy housing; that is contrary in many ways to your dignity as human persons. Do not say, ‘It is God who wills it’ ’’ (par. 122).

      - In the Scriptures, the poor are blessed. ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.’ It is not their poverty that is ‘blessed.’ Nor are they blessed because they are necessarily better Christians than their prosperous brothers and sisters (par. 123).

      - While PCP II counsels, as it should, ‘the evangelical spirit of poverty, detachment from possessions, a profound trust in the Lord as the sole source of salvation, poverty of spirit’ (par. 125), its emphasis is on ‘special love for the poor … the suffering, and those undergoing persecution for sake of justice’ (par. 126).

      - ‘The ‘Church of the Poor’ is one that will be in solidarity with the poor. It will collaborate with the poor themselves and with others to lift up the poor from their poverty….’ (par. 130)

      - The ‘Church of the Poor’ means, in the words of Pope John Paul II, that: ‘Before today’s forms of exploitation of the poor, the Church cannot remain silent. She also reminds the rich of their precise duties. Strong with the Word of God, she condemns the many injustices which unfortunately, even today, are committed to the detriment of the poor.’ Pastors and members of the Church will courageously defend and vindicate the rights of the poor and the oppressed, even when doing so will mean alienation or persecution from the rich and powerful (par. 131).

    Grounding and Meaning. Need anything more be said? Those, however, who are looking for a firm biblical grounding for the Church of the Poor, will, I hope, find it in Jesus’ proclamation of ‘good news to the poor.’ In other words, what is the biblical basis for the Church of the Poor? It is Jesus’ proclamation of justice and liberation for the poor.

    In fact, it provides not only grounding; it also supplies the only possible serious meaning to the ‘Church of the Poor.’ In other words, what is the serious meaning of Church of the Poor? It is a Church that proclaims good news of justice and liberation for the poor. A Church can claim to be a ‘Church of the Poor’ only when, like Jesus, it stakes its life and its fortunes on behalf of the poor and their well-being. Otherwise, it is all a play with words.

    Preferential Option. Something similar can be said for that oft-repeated axiom ‘preferential option for the poor.’ Why preferential option? Is this not an unwarranted bias? Again, we cannot re-write the gospel story according to our image and likeness. The Church must have this option, because Jesus did.

    ‘Good news to the poor’ had an axial position in the mission statements, in the practice and in the teaching of Jesus. Need we find a sounder proof of Jesus’ preferential option for the poor – except to add that, in the case of Jesus, such option evidently amounted to something like obsession?

    As Jesus-followers, we cannot let all that centrality and preoccupation of Jesus go to waste. Thus our much celebrated but little practiced ‘preferential option for the poor’ is not optional but the duty of a Church that wants to follow Jesus.

    Questions To Ponder

    A Question for The Christian Conscience. In the spirit of our host, PCP II, I would like to end with a couple of questions. In the practically 500 years of conventional Catholic and Reformation theologies, we have listed all the deeds of Jesus before, during, and after his earthly life except, or hardly ever, his proclamation of liberation and justice to the poor.

    I look for serious treatments of ‘good news to the poor’ in theology manuals and catechetical modules—and most of the time, in vain.

    And yet, it is mentioned in the principal mission statements. It is the only act of Jesus that is constantly mentioned in different mission statements. Therefore, it is the bone and marrow of his message and mission! His teachings on property and possessions and on social justice are plain and clear.

    Why then has the gospel of liberation and justice for the poor not been part of the Christian conscience for several hundred years? Can we make up for lost time – especially we theologians and clergy who have been largely responsible for our Church’s limited recall of Jesus’ message?

    The Poor Judge the Church. Let us conclude with a simple though weighty question. The most serious question that still faces the Church in our day is this: Will the ‘anawim of the Third World today judge the Church to be good news to the poor? Is our witness and practice as Jesus’ Church today good news to the poor? Yes, happily, in the case of certain good and tried friends of the poor. But these same people beckon to their Church brothers and sisters to shed off the pomp, the titles, and the obeisances of medieval times . . . and get on with the Jesus-business of our day.

    Will You Also Go Away? At this point in our journey, the signposts could very well read: after this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? (Jn 6:66-67)

     
    Be Still and Know …