Our Gospel text for tonight is about – “the privileged” … abusing “the poor.”
It is nothing new…It happens all the time. It happens every day!
The “privileged” are the ones who sue.
“Peasants” and people who are “dirt poor” – do not (as a rule) sue one another. You cannot get nothing from nothing. But the privileged are more than happy to take away – even what little the poor may own…including their very lives.
The “privileged” are not exposed to the unjust hardship of conscription, that was reserved for the poor. You will never see a priest, a scribe, a high priest, a Sadducee or a Pharisee conscripted to carrying a soldiers back-pack for a mile, much-less for two miles.
So when Simon of Cyrene, is conscripted to carry the cross of Jesus to the place of crucifixion, we must assume that Simon of Cyrene was among the poorest of the poor.
Pressing Jews into service was widely practiced throughout the country – and obviously, it was widely resented, as well.
Individuals could lose an entire day of work while being conscripted to carry a soldiers gear.
The privileged are not the “beggars” – that would be “the poor.” Beggars were everywhere to be seen, but they were usually people without means. Often times, they would be widows, orphans and the lame and the blind.
Borrowers – would again be the poorest of the poor. But those who borrowed to them money would be the elite, the rich, the powerful, those of status and they would charge exorbitant rates and fees…
Masters slapped their slaves and their servants…they were the ones to assert their “status and their power.”
Not the other way around.
Slaves did not slap their masters, unless they were seeking a “death sentence.”
Slaves do not usually slap other slaves.
Slaves and servants are usually without power and status. So again, one more time, we are talking about the poor.
Retaliation against enemies – was meant to mitigate revenge and to free the people from “blood feuds” and “excessive retaliation.”
The actual law on the books said, – “An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
If someone in your family loses an eye, that does not mean you can cut off the head of the perpetrator.
All of which is to say, there was such a thing as “justifiable violence” that was “permissible and sanctioned” by the society as a whole.
Jesus stood opposed to all forms of violence…and especially violence that was “purposefully aimed at the poor.”
It was the “poor” that was constantly being taken advantage of – by the well-to-do.
Jesus was right. This wasn’t about “rewriting the old laws” – nor was it about creating “new laws.”
Jesus was more or less expanding the laws or giving further insight into the laws or shining light on the laws that were already in existence.
His concern – was high-lighting the continual plight of the poor…at the expense of those in positions of power, prestige and status.
The whole “rotten system” perpetuated poverty. That same system also denied dignity to the poor. It was the system itself that encouraged the ones who benefited from it – to imagine themselves as being “somehow superior.” It was all about “dominance.”
It was a system that slowly developed over time to keep the destitute pheasants poor and in constant danger of getting poorer and being more and more demeaned. The poor actually saw themselves as being “lesser.” They saw themselves as being “worthy of abuse.” They were “the oppressed” and the rich were the oppressors. And that’s just the way it was. We have to keep in mind that most of Jesus’ listeners were poor…dirt poor and without any means whatsoever.
Sometimes they were even seen as being the “enemy”…they were without rank, without privilege, without resources and without power. What if the poor would suddenly “rise up” against the rich or against their masters?
For all intents and purposes it was a story of “the haves” versus “the have nots”…and you know, which side Jesus sided with…and intervened in favor for…?
And just “how is it” that we treat the poor in our midst? And what are your attitudes – (like) – toward the poor and the downtrodden? How are you doing— in relation to them?