Reflection on Education,Service & Community Management

Liberation theology can only be truly understood by examing the situations in which it arose. There are more strictly defined ways of describing liberation theology but the most crucial question of liberation theology is “what does a Christian do in today’s society?” This emphasis of liberation theology on praxis indicates the need to study the situation where liberation theology was born. Two things which emerge from the first prescribed reading is that liberation theology is question of God and liberation. The two are not to be understood separately. The first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI stated “Deus caritas est”, God is love and in liberation theology the love of God is expressed a compassion and action for the poor.

One of the key figures of liberation theology, sometimes considered its founder, is Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian priest who is both highly educated familiar with poor people especially in his native land. The combination of studying in elite institutions and then witnessing the poor people had a profound effect on Gutierrez. From his life’s work it would seem that he did not abandon his faith on seeing the suffering in the world but instead resolved to live the love of God that he preached. In essence, if God really is love then anyone who knows God by definition must help the poor, the suffering, the oppressed.

According to Gutierrez the first act is a commitment to the poor and then theology is the second act. This commitment is shown by making a common cause with the poor. It cannot be emphasised enough that the heart of liberation theology is to encounter the poor and be in solidarity with them. The suffering of the poor inspired this commitment in Gutierrez in the light of Christian faith and that fundamental experience is still the centrepiece of liberation theology. Its is probably accurate to say that theology itself, being always the second act, has been gradually elaborated over time and is still being elaborated today. Gutierrez is not the only person elaborating theology and the cause is not confined to Peru or even the Americas. A large number of leading thinkers have contributed to the elaboration from all parts of the world including first world countries where the average Christian would not encounter such horrendous poverty.

Our first prescribed reading makes it clear that Jesus is a liberator. Being a liberator however is not an abstract title, Jesus’ mission is to help the poor and first and foremost. This vision of Jesus as one who empowers people “is after long neglect in Christian History, being appreciated again.” In modern times it is clear from a brief survey of international media that there is no shortage of poverty and suffering in the world but this raises the question of where the response is that liberation theologians have their work cut out for them if the message of liberation theology is needed more urgently. The two options are not entirely the same. It is certainly worth pondering the words of Jesus “the poor will always be with you.” Did Jesus mean that the poor will never be entirely liberated or that the struggle will take longer than his audience at the time would have realised. Perhaps this quotation is not as relevant to liberation theology as it would seem because nowhere in the first prescribed reading did it say that the success or validity of liberation theology can be determined by how many poor people are liberated or when the entirety of them are. Liberation theology is a practice and a process, a process which does not have a set end date. The success can only be judged by whether a person actually loves the poor.

Reference
A New Way of Encountering God. ‘Liberation Theology’ An Introductory Guide, Robert McAfee Brown. Chapter 3