Jesus was for integrated liberation

Last week, the 29th Baptist World Alliance Congress concluded in scenic Honolulu, Hawaii, under the theme 'Hear the Spirit'. And one of the messages from the Holy Spirit that was reinforced at this memorable congress attended by 4,500 persons from 105 countries, was that Jesus the Christ was for integrated liberation.

This point was eloquently and profoundly made at a Bible study conducted by Janet Clark, Canadian scholar and former missionary to Indonesia. She used Luke 4:18 as her base to confirm that Jesus' mission was holistic liberation. The Lucan passage states, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." This passage demonstrates that Jesus was not only interested in "soul freedom", that is, the freedom of the soul from state intervention in the relationship between a human and God, but also interested in the persons' need for healing, emancipation and good news.

I made a similar point in my presentation at one of the focus groups. My topic was 'Baptists at 400: Where we have been and where we should go'. I suggested that Baptists of the future should have a hermeneutic of liberation which is an integrated understanding of liberation used by National Heroes Paul Bogle and George William Gordon, among others.

Hermeneutic

The hermeneutic of liberation is from the reader-response approach, which places emphasis on what the text means to the interpretative community, and their understanding of self and their experiences. The hermeneutic of liberation is an interpretative technique which focuses on biblical texts that emphasise full freedom. It focuses on liberation of peoples who are enslaved by inequalities and injustices. Paul Bogle and George William Gordon, national heroes of Jamaica and Native Baptists, in utilising this hermeneutic of liberation, focused on themes of equality and justice which informed their prophetic response to the oppressive British colonial rule. At that time in Europe, equality was not an accepted concept for all human races not even in the anti-slavery society.

However, Dr Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), father of the Chinese republic, who made Honolulu the birthplace of the modern Chinese revolution, had a dictum, "All under heaven are equal" ('Monument at Chinatown Honolulu'). But before Dr Sun, ordinary, untrained seminary preachers in Jamaica, Bogle and Gordon et al, in responding to British colonial oppression, recognised that all were equal in the sight of God and before the law, and all stood equally in need of salvation. They also perceived that God was a God of justice, who will judge all fairly, and everyone will get his just reward. Furthermore, justice had a holistic dimension and an eschatological outlook. Justice means having a fair share of God's resources, and that in the end the just will be vindicated. As Baptists seek to engage powers - be it to redeem or confront - this hermeneutic of liberation would be helpful.

Full freedom

Jesus apparently used the hermeneutic of liberation when he quoted the passage from Isaiah 66. There were many passages in the Old Testament from which Jesus could have quoted to announce the start of his ministry, but he was attracted to a passage that dealt with full freedom. In addition, the God of the Old Testament was a God of total liberation, giving the people the promised Land, as well as forgiveness of sins. Furthermore, the only reason given to the Israelites for the keeping of the Sabbath was because of emancipation from Egyptian slavery: "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day." Deut 5:15. God was for integrated liberation - and so should all Christians.

Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'The Cross and the Machete: Native Baptists of Jamaica - Identity, Ministry and Legacy'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com