Theology in the Darkness of Empire

November 14, 2012
The Diversity Times ,Nov. 2016 Vol.5 No.11

By: Levy Abad

courtesy of  jonathanturley

One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is Luke 4:18-19 which states, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favourable year of the Lord.” The Lord Jesus read this when he came to Nazareth in a synagogue on the Sabbath. This passage is read by Jesus from the book of the prophet Isaiah. Reflecting on this biblical passage made me realize its seditious nature. To premise the prophetic activity of Jesus on this passage during the Reign of the Roman Empire is to subvert it.

Related to this point, we must not neglect the historical context of slavery to be able to grasp the comprehensive meaning of a given passage. The dominant mode of production during this period is based the owning of slaves, while later modes would be based on feudal ownership or eventually the ownership of Capital. Missing the context will lead one to spiritualize the biblical event. The subversive nature of the midrash (allegory, homily, exegesis) of Jesus no wonder attracted a lot of the Zealots to his side. With these as premise, the next thing to do is to look into the radical passages in the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew like, “The Scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. They tie up the heavy burdens and lay them on men`s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.” For how could the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes do the right thing when they are already compromised? So Jesus one time asked one of them to show him a Denarius to which a Pharisee right away did. That’s it! What duplicity! How could they be parushim/ set apart in holiness, if the dirty denarius is in their pocket?

As for me, I can only say Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison.

It is also interesting to note the Eight Woes from Matthew 23:13-39, of which I’m going to quote some verses: 14. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation. Moving to verse 23.“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25. “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self- indulgence. 29. Woe to you.... for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30. And say, “if we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets”. There are still many verses of the same justice tenor that I would not include just to save space, such as the Eight woes that constitute a radical critique of the theocratic leadership during the second temple period, leadership who served as puppets of the Roman Empire. When Jesus addressed the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Scribes, he was not trying to be cute or nice, but was exposing the corrupt theocrats of his time when there was no separation of powers yet. These eight woes are proof that Jesus is not a passive actor in the stage of History. The Messiahs pronouncements are denunciations of the existing social relations engendered by the Empire. No wonder with his firm stand, he was acutely aware of the logical outcome of persecution/ Crucifixion. These Eight woes owe its relevance to the historical context of oppression without which such pronouncements has no meaning.

Even the name of the Lord Jesus/Yeshuah (My God Saves) illuminates and glows with brightness in the darkness of Imperial oppression. The best proof of this is the persecution of the Messianic movement (that eventually became Christianity) in the early centuries of its growth. Sadly, nowadays in most instances it is no longer a movement but a petrified institution possessed by Greed. Truly, even from the days of old, the Gospel is good news for the poor/oppressed and bad news for the oppressor, though it intends to save them too.

In my studies, I noticed that Theology of Liberation given its weaknesses in practice, is rooted in the exodus and essentially faithful to the social context of the century that encompasses the activity of Jesus, while other theologies with its literal tendency, ignore the context leading them to supra historical and spiritualized/ escapist and reactionary conclusions. In my interaction with some literalists’ grassroot theologians, I have always sensed the disinterestedness in engaging in socially transformative movements. They have this tendency to focus on individualistic prayers, but are quick to spiritualize social movements that triumph, as part of an answered prayer glossing over the struggles that conditioned such social changes. Even with the ideology that they embrace, they close their eyes to the violence of it, but are in all praises when it benefits them. “Hypocrites all!” Jesus said. They are quick to accuse reformers and revolutionaries of Atheism etc., but when this changes lead to a better life, which is essentially theistic, they are the first ones to get fattened by it to their hearts glee. Lest I be accused of promoting anti- Semitism, my mention of the Pharisees here pertains only to the ruling clique of the Sanhedrin that manoeuvred to execute Jesus while in cahoots with Rome in promoting peace based on Injustice. There are also individuals in the scripture and groups of Pharisees who supported Jesus like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea (Ramatayim), while others did it in a clandestine way. There are biblical attestations and extra biblical sources that support this point. Noteworthy to mention, the concept of resurrection of the dead is just a borrowed concept from the Pharisees. Robert Eisenman’s books, like “James the brother of Jesus” and the “New Testament Code” are good references for this. John P. Meier’s, “A Marginal Jew” Volumes 1 to 3, books of Geza Vermes, Flavius Josephus and countless others.

Luke 4: 18-19, as read by Jesus in a Synagogue, is a laying down of his Social Agenda. It will put into practice the Kingdom of God as an Ideology and a Vision towards the World to Come or the “Olam haba” (the future age). Luke 4:18-19 breaks down into details the  commandment of “loving thy neighbour as thyself “ in the areas of attitude towards persons and the social system. Putting into practice the Kingdom of God subverts the rule of Rome. It counter poses the values of the Kingdom like faith ,hope, love, justice and liberation to that of the Roman Empire based on Slavery. I noticed even in present times, those who succumbed to fear of liberation dilute the sharp message of Jesus to justify the status quo or the Empire. I have seen this in the intensity of the struggle. I have seen those brought up in the womb of the empire vacillate and get confused when confronted with the issue of counting the cost of preferential option for the poor and clinging on to a gnostic, escapist / otherworldly theology. The parting of ways at times and the breaking of theological ties most of the time occur not because of right or wrong, but because of the intensity of social pressure, conditioned by the tension or dialectics between Empire and Liberation and unfortunately only a few are conscious of this. Luke 4: 18-19 compels one to undergo the garden of Gethsemane Experience of choosing Self or the Kingdom of God, a theological to be or not to be.

In the Month of October , we were led by our Pastor in studying the Exodus. The exodus is the story of Liberation/deliverance of the Israelites out of Egyptian captivity. This Liberation is a paradigm not just for the ancient Israelites but for all peoples. The Liberation experience of the Israelites is a Menorah that will light the world during the dark period of the Roman Empire and even up to now in the world to come/a world that came to be, if viewed from the perspective of the second temple period. The exodus paved the way for the arrival of Jesus the Messiah in the world stage where he takes unto himself the Menorah and becomes it. The exodus reminds one of Moses, when he rejected a future as part of an empire, but instead, opted to sacrifice everything and lead the oppressed out of Slavery. Moses, in a simple way, points to the tabernacling of the Messiah in History, by being born into the world of oppression to bring light into the Darkness of Empire. Hence, without the Exodus, Luke 4:18-19 will be empty.