Christ the
Liberator from Indian perspective
Excerpt from
Introduction to Christian Theologies in India by Laji Chacko, pp 196-199
The Latin
American Liberation theology brought the issue of socioeconomic factor as part
of theological exercise. According to S. Kappen “What we have in India is a
form of dependent capitalism characterized by the vast concentration of the
means of production (agricultural and industrial) in a few hands. Though it has
contributed to the development of the productive forces, capitalism has created
wide disparities in income and opportunity, which have only increased since
Independence. 47 percent are doomed to live below subsistence level. Here is
how an economist sums up the result of capitalist development thus far:
Nine-tenths of India’s populations are left behind in economic backwaters. Mass
poverty is on the rise; the non-availability of the most basic human
necessities per capita such as food grains and clothing are scarce;
rural indebtedness has multiplied; unemployment and underemployment have
reached the level of 20.8 million person-years’. To this must be added the
proliferation of slums, the marginalization of tribals and the outcastes, the
destruction of traditional handicrafts and the ecological ravages wrought by
profit-oriented production.” Kappen here evaluate the Indian society and his
mark sheet presents the real face of India.
It is important
to hold all this in mind today, when we speak of a Christology from the
struggles of the marginalized peoples of India. Their being marginal in society
and being oppressed is a point which brings them together in search of freedom
and a fuller life. Their Christology is not centered on the titles of Jesus, or
the dogmatic definitions of his person. These are not questions of any immediate
concern to them. Their interpretation of Jesus is as someone who dwells among
them (Jn. 1:14), who shares their life, its struggles and sorrows. Therefore,
in the gospel stories of Jesus’ dealing with the poor, those at the periphery
of society have found great echo in the hearts of the poor in India. As a
result, the socioeconomic reality of the community
requires a Christology that can present Jesus as the liberator.
Christ and Our Search for New Humanity
Many Indian
theologians started realizing that God’s revelation in Jesus Christ and the
Gospel contain answers and powerful resources for the socio-economic, political,
cultural and religious questions and aspirations of the nation. They also saw a
link between the Gospel of Christ and the social and religious movements of the
country. As many Christians and missionaries began to involve in the struggles
of the people and to identify with the poor and the marginalized, they realized
that are proclaiming Christ in a new way and found the relevance of the Gospel
for the country and for the lives of the people. More number of Indian
Christians and theologians began to realize that evangelization is much more
than merely baptizing people and planting the Church. They realized that
evangelization as proclaiming God’s love manifested in Christ called for
communion and humanization. Authentic humanization is at the same time
divinization. India’s rich religious experience, our time-old tradition of harmony
among the plurality of religions, the nations’ resolve to construct a new
society based on equal justice and freedom for all, and our strong commitment
to eliminate poverty and misery, and solidarity with the poor and the
marginalized, all these were seen Jesus Christ is the Prototype of the new
humanity and the new creation.
Jesus Ministry of Liberation
As far as his
ministry is concerned, Jesus’ response to the ‘anawim’ of his times consisted first of all in his
self-identification with the poor, by means of which he showed his active
concern for them. This was in view of ending their “poverty” (understood in the
broader sense as dehumanization). It is to this end that he called for a life
of “spiritual poverty”, which he believed would set both the rich and the poor
free from the stranglehold of compulsive urge to possess (the worship of
Mammon). The freeing ministry that he engaged himself in consisted mainly in
setting people free from sin and guilt (Mk. 2:1-12; Matt. 26,28), from demons
(Mk. 1:21-28), from ritualism (Matt 6,7) and from the oppressive burden of the
Law (Matt. 11:28-30).
The new social
order that he envisages is characterized by the freedom of the socially
ostracized (Mk. 1: 40 -45; Luke. 19: 1- 10), freedom from the burden of
possessions (Mk. 1:16-18; 10:17-23; Mt. 6:24), freedom to love (Lk. 7: 36-40)
and freedom from false securities of life (Mt 6: 25 -34). Such freedom is both
a prerequisite and constitutive of the Kingdom of God. This does not amount to reducing
the Kingdom to social liberation, but to seeing the fact that one cannot have
the Kingdom without liberation. That is why we see a strong social thrust in
the mission statement of Jesus (Lk. 4: 16-21). This actually is taken from Is.
61:1-2 (LXX), but with two modifications. First, the clause “to heal the broken hearted” is
omitted and “to set the oppressed free” (Is. 58:6) is
added. The good news proclaimed by Jesus thus gets a clear social thrust. We can
clearly find the motif of liberation underlying in Jesus’ ministry.
The Church’s
main task is to proclaim this arrival of ‘the new humanity in Christ’ and to be
at the service of it. This new
theological trend emphasized the hidden presence of Christ and Holy Spirit
in all cultures and religions and in all human societies calling for communion
and authentic human development or humanization. Christ is seen here not merely
as the center of the whole creation. The transformation of human life and human
societies in all its dimensions is the goal of the mission of the Church. It is
not only the task of the Church and Christians, but also the task of all
believers as well as non-believers. Hence, the Christian mission needs the collaboration
and co-operation with the people of all religions and
ideologies, and
thus the need for dialogue. All these call for the redefining of Christian
mission and a different style of missionary praxis. The Church as a community
following the tradition set by the Lord need to re-grip itself with the concern
of liberation.
Since Jesus is
the liberator of the oppressed the following of Jesus must have other emphasis
on spirituality. The systemic analysis of societies and of religious
institutions have to be part of the process of discerning the human quest for
liberation and discovering God’s will in a given situation. Prophetic witness,
a relevant Catechesis, a socially live liturgy and participation by the
Christian community in the process of human liberation can also be training
grounds of holiness and union with Christ. Sanctity would then not be so exclusively
linked to the sanctuary, the monk’s cowl and complacent non-participation in
public life. Then we can look forward to a new flowering of faith in the Master,
crucified because of his unflinching loyalty to the values of justice, love,
freedom, truth and peace. Hope in the realization of these values within human communities
will grow, and love would expand to amore genuine level of commitment to
persons and groups including justice and liberation. New prophets, martyrs, and
servants of human liberation will arise among the Christians. Fortunately this
is already taking place in many countries of the world. The Christology of Christ the liberator challenges the theologians
to shape their theology with liberation as its core message.
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