Postcolonial Reading of Luke 16:1-13
Reflection for World Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine Israel 2016
September
18 to 24, annually is observed as World Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine Israel
(WWPPPI) inviting churches and civil society to join together for a week of
advocacy and action in support of an end to illegal occupation of Palestine and
for a just peace in Palestine Israel. The theme for this year 2016 is ‘Dismantling
the Barriers’, which is an echo to the previous year’s theme ‘wall will fall.’ On
the other hand, our immediate context here at our Chaplaincy is a setting of
welcome week for the freshers who will join Universities, coming to learn in
newer settings. Dismantling the barriers and welcoming the others are part and
parcel of Christian witness and commitment.
There
are several barriers that hinder the welcome, and there are many forms of
mammon that have become barriers and obstruct welcome. Idolatry of power,
prejudice, positions, wealth, walls, occupation etc. are the manifestations of
mammon and it is high time that we stand to break down, dismantle and despise
mammon, which in itself is an expression of ones’ devotion to God.
The gospel
lesson chosen for this Sunday from Luke 16: 1-13 has been one of the
problematic texts in the Scriptures for there have been varied interpretations,
and sometimes not knowing how to interpret the rich man commending the
dishonest manager for his shrewdness. It was interesting to see how the two
‘debtors’ in this text would have reacted and reflected the whole story. In
that line, here is an attempt of reading that story from the perspective of the
two colonized ‘debtors’ who have been either neglected or overlooked in this colonial
paradigm. This is my own re-imagination of the parable, reading it from the standpoints of subalternity and postcoloniality. A postcolonial subaltern hermeneutics of this text gives us a fresh
understanding that ‘loving God means hating mammon.’
Then
the disciples of Jesus heard this, “There were two families named Ashraf and
Maria (in the literary texts of the scripture their names are both forgotten
and never mentioned), who have been forced to become poor because of Roman
colonization. Their struggles knew no bounds for they toiled day in and day out
to feed their family and have been unable to find a square meal a day. The
oppression of the colonizers grew intense as they levied heavy taxes on the
poor by looting their money, resources and energy unjustly, cutting down their
rations, implementing austerity measures and by stealing their own food and
importing it to the centres of the empire, leaving this land with hunger and
famine. Ashraf and Maria left no stone unturned in finding some food for their
families but returned unsuccessful with empty stomachs and empty pockets.
There
was a cruel manager in their quarter working for the empire, exploiting the
people by extorting huge amounts. Ashraf and Maria went to this cruel manager
to get some food on a debt to feed their family. Ashraf took on a debt 50 jugs
of olive oil from this cruel manager. When signing the receipts of debt, the
cruel manager got him signed that he had taken 100 jugs of olive oil, and stole
the rest of the 50 jugs of oil to be sold elsewhere. Maria took 80 containers
of wheat on a debt from him, and he like before got her signed for 100 containers
of wheat, and pocketed the rest to make extra money. Both Ashraf and Mari in
their vulnerability of being colonized and powerless and out of their need to
feed the family had to sign on these wrong receipts. When they started repaying
their debts by returning one container of wheat and one jug of oil per month,
the cruel manager took them for himself as compounded interest and never
updated the books. Ashraf and Maria remained helpless and returned grumbling
against the unjust activities of the cruel manager.
When
the books weren’t updated for a long time, and when the empire got to hear
about the dishonesty and disloyalty of this manager, the empire called on for
an emergency audit and summoned this cruel manager to bring the books for
audit. This cruel manager was in a fix and knew that he will lose his job very
soon.
On
hearing this news all the people in the colonized quarter where Ashraf and
Maria lived gathered together, for they all shared their experiences of how
this cruel manager exploited each of them. They all agreed to the fact that
‘you reap what you sow’, that happens here on this world and this cruel manager
is reaping to lose his job for the way he tortured and victimized several poor
people. The people in the quarter knew that a change of a manager may not bring
in any change, unless the empire which is the greater evil in oppressing people
has to be defeated and crushed down.
The
cruel manager then said to himself, “the corporate empire has now come to know
of me squandering their moneys, so what will I do? I can’t change my trade for
I am not competitive to work in other sectors nor can claim benefits as
homeless for everyone know that I have extorted money from the poor and
homeless.” On realizing that he will not only be fired by the empire, he will
also be hated even more by the colonizers for his unjust acts, and in order to
mend the situation and to be welcomed by the people in this quarter, he thought
he will further summon the debtors and write off some of their bills so that he
can at least be accepted by the community there.
The
cruel manager then summons Ashraf and enquires how much does he owe the empire?
Ashraf replied, “Actually I borrowed 50 jugs of olive oil, but it was you who
asked me to sign on a bill of 100 jugs.” Manager immediately replied, “Take
your bill, and write it off to 50 jugs of oil.” Manager thought this writing
off the bill will win Judah to be his friend.
He
then summoned Maria and enquires how much does she owe the empire? Maria
replied, “If you remember, I actually borrowed 80 containers of wheat, but it
was you who asked us to sign on a bill for 100 containers.” Manager immediately
replied, “Take your bill, and write it off to 80 containers of wheat.” Manager
was self-appreciating himself that he is winning the favour of these people, so
that when he is fired from the empire, he can still be accepted by this
community.
But
Ashraf & Maria revolted back by saying unanimously,
“You son of a
viper, you have exploited us all along, extorting our money, our energy, our
land and our resources and have made our lives deplorable. When your true
colour is exposed you want to do us favours by granting concessions on our
bills. We are not going to keep quite at a moment like this. We want to raise our
voice, we want you to repay us back four times for all the extortions you have
done, we want you to be prosecuted criminally for all your cruel and unjust
things you have done to us. We want justice and liberation. We want the
cancellation of all our debts. We want the empire to leave our land and want
this occupation to end. We want reparation for your acts towards us. Our
devotion in God challenges us to despise the mammon of idolatry and injustice.”
The
cruel manager was surprised to see the courage in these people and for the way
they are standing for their rights. His plot of doing favours to these people
boomeranged and he was further hated by all the members of this colony. The
whole community saw to it that he was prosecuted and repented of his unjust
activities.
When
the empire came to know about this ‘doing favours’ to the debtors, they sarcastically commended this cruel
manager’s shrewdness, for these acts expose the heights of his dishonesty and
injustice. The children of the light wouldn’t do such shrewd activities like
the children of this world.
Jesus
in a similar vein, sarcastically and mocking at the unjust manager and the rich
empire says, “make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that
when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” One might think
that one is making friends by means of dishonest wealth, by unjust ways, by
extorting money from the vulnerable, thinking that they might be received into
their homes and places, but at the end they will be rejected, hated and will be
brought to justice by the vulnerable victims.
Taking
cognizance of Ashraf and Maria’s resilience and longing for justice, Jesus
therefore says, “whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much,
and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the
dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with
what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave 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.’
Ashraf
and Maria, therefore exposes the rich Pharisees and Sadducees who have been
working as managers squandering and extorting money from the poor and
vulnerable. It is an important learning that no one can serve God and Empire.
For one has to love one and hate the other and there is no middle ground. Being
faithful to what belongs to our neighbours is a key in being faithful to
oneself. Loving God calls us to dismantle mammon.
If
we have to serve God, let us not use God as a means of acquiring wealth for
ourselves, or make God an agent of empire building. Love God and dismantle
mammon
If
you have to serve God, let us give up our dishonesty and unjust activities,
especially with wealth, resources and money. Love God and dismantle mammon.
If
you have to serve God, let us be faithful in little things, in simple things,
in jobs entrusted to us, for God appreciates honesty and justice in little
acts. Love God and dismantle mammon.
If
you have to serve God, the Pharisees and Sadducees of our times, who extort
money from the vulnerable, are to be exposed and brought to justice. Love God
and dismantle mammon.
If
you have to serve God, look for the divine among communities where Ashraf and
Maria lives, for Jesus speaks on their behalf and brings good news to the poor
by proclaiming bad news to the rich. Love God and dismantle mammon.
If
you have to serve God, the call to cancel debts by capitalists on the poorer,
liberating the neo-colonial captives becomes a gospel imperative. Love God and
dismantle mammon.
If
you have to serve God, allow the subalterns, the occupied, the vulnerable, the
colonized speak, for the church is called to listen to the overlooked and
forgotten voices of the subalterns. Love God and dismantle mammon.
If
we have to serve God, we are invited to join in the advocacy for the liberation
of people in Palestine from occupations, and see to it that all the barriers
will be dismantled and justice is ensured. Love God and dismantle mammon.
If
you have to serve God, we are called to dismantle the barriers of power,
prejudice, positions and liberate the occupied by welcoming them. Love God and
dismantle mammon.
To
that end may the Holy Spirit grant us strength to be devoted to God by
despising, dismantling the mammon of our times, and strive to look for God
among those victims of debts. Love God, hate & despise mammon. Together we
will dismantle the barriers and welcome the other to form a just, inclusive and
liberated community. Amen.
Rajbharat
Patta,
18th
September 2016
(Sermon preached at St. Peters Church
& Chaplaincy, Manchester)
No comments:
Post a Comment