Mary & Social Justice

This Sunday, we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and we hear in the gospel Mary's song of social justice, the Magnificat. With a careful read, it is easy to see that the mother of Jesus was a radical proponent of social justice:

[The Almighty] has shown the strength of his arm,
      and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
      and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
      and the rich he has sent away empty.

What can we do this week to lift up the lowly and fill the hungry with good things? It's what our Mother would like us to do!
Copyright © 2010, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins. (http://bit.ly/16p8ws)
 

Random Acts of Kindness & Social Justice

The Sunday gospel for this week is the familiar story of the lawyer who tests Jesus about salvation and ends up getting the parable of the "good Samaritan." It's a good reminder that there are a lot of people who need immediate help in the world today, especially with the economy continuing to struggle. Providing immediate help and mercy as the good Samaritan did is a sign of our Christianity — being a neighbor and offering basic care or random acts of kindness to someone in need is a mark of our faith, just as it is for Jews and those who profess some other religions.
       The work of social justice goes beyond that and asks works on the more difficult problem of how a person or persons find themselves in such need. It seeks to prevent others from having such a need by eliminating structures or systems that have negative impacts, and by creating new structures and systems that support and raise up those in need. For example, caring for injured pedestrians at a busy street corner is an example of providing basic care to those in need, whereas social justice would involve upgrading the intersection with pedestrian crossings, traffic signals, and warning signs.
       Thus, social justice can be thought of as investing in a future where there are fewer people in need and all are raised up.
Copyright © 2010, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins. (http://bit.ly/16p8ws)
 

"Blessed are you who are poor…"

Today's gospel (Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C) needs to be read carefully to get the social justice impact. Look carefully at who are blessed: "…you who are poor"; "…you who are hungry now"; "…you who are now weeping." These aren't the spiritualized "poor in spirit" or those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness" of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. These are the down-to-earth beatitudes of Luke's Sermon on the Plain, the "stretch of level ground" where Luke hopes to level the playing field for the people of first century Palestine. He really meant the poor, the hungry, and the weeping! These are people who were considered shamed in an honor/shame culture. He turns their society's notion of status upside down by saying that even those who the world deems shamed, because of their poverty or loss, are nonetheless blessed in God's eyes.
       Note, too, that Jesus was speaking to his own disciples when he preached these beatitudes. Thus, his message was not meant for the world in general but for those who have already chosen to follow him. He expected his disciples to embrace the shamed and give afford them the honor, the blessedness, with which God created them.
       So, for all the followers of Christ, here is a social justice exercise for this week: If Jesus were delivering the Sermon on the Plain today, who do you think he might include as the poor, the hungry, and the weeping? Who do we consider shameful today? How might we better honor them as those blessed by God?
Copyright © 2010, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins. 
   

"He preached good news to the people."

These are the final words of this Sunday's gospel (Luke 3:10-18). And just what was the "good news" that John the Baptist was preaching that day? It was to give someone one of your cloaks if you have two; to share your food; do not falsely accuse anyone; and be satisfied with your wages. In other words, the good news according to John the Baptist was to live justly. In these last few days before Christmas, let us prepare for Jesus' coming by taking John's words to heart, by committing ourselves to living justly.
Copyright © 2009, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins.