Week 5 and the theological roots of
social justice. The God we read about in
the Bible is the God of justice.
Injustice has never been expectation of
God justice always is. In the Old
Testament when the Israelites were to
begin their life as the chosen people
God demanded equal justice for the widow
the alien the orphan and the poor what
has been called the quartet of the
vulnerable because these groups do not
have protection of normal family or
tribal affiliation. Only a handful of the
Old Testament passages include all four
of these groups such as Zachariah
chapter 7 verses 9 and 10 declares thus
says the Lord of hosts render true
judgments show kindness and mercy to one
another
do not oppress the widow, the alien, the
orphan, or the poor. As a non-israelite
the alien would tend to be barred from
many privileges of the Israelite
community and worship life and the
widows and orphans were handicapped in
the ancient ancient Near Eastern world
because the economic well-being depended
upon the father and the husband and the
poor have always been marginalized. Using
Moses God established the judicial
system while the Israelites were in the
wilderness in route to the promised land
at from Mount Sinai and later modifying
the law for agrarian life within the
system of the cities and towns in
pre-monarchic Israel. Walter Brueggemann has
reminded us that in particular the
justice of what we see in the Book
of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament they
are preoccupied with the vulnerable
that need protection by the community
the poor alongside the widow,s orphans,
and immigrants. The law bluntly
circumscribed that Israel consists in
those who practice such protective
justice. Deuteronomy emphasizes that for
the people who are living according to
the law given a Sinai in order to have
God's help in conquest and above all
they must live justly. When they follow
the law and live justly God will give
them the land and the victory to possess
it. The Israelites are to respond by
taking possession and by actually
really pursuing social justice. The
prophets continued the social and
protective justice emphasis of the book
of the law, the first five books in the
Old Testament, for example in Isaiah
chapter 1 verse 17 the prophet of
Jerusalem makes it clear what social
justice includes: "Stop doing wrong
learn to do what is right seek justice
rebuke the oppressor defend the orphan
plead for the widow." The prophets
acknowledged the demand for serving the
poor while also affirming the fulfillment
of these demands should not be regarded
as a form of personal insurance or a way
of controlling God rather social justice
in serving the poor is a matter of
freely giving what one has freely
received. In the New Testament we
sometimes get the idea that love
replaces justice in the Old Testament. In
fact the New Testament is all about
justice. Jesus expands the
Old Testament view of social justice for
the poor and the marginalized to include
other outsiders: women, tax collectors,
Gentiles, lepers, and demon-possessed
individuals. The story of the Good
Samaritan pushes the boundaries of
holiness rituals and nationality as
Jesus makes the point that assisting
those in need must extend beyond the
boundaries of social classes, ethnic
groups, and religious affiliations. Even
during his dying our Jesus extended
grace to the criminal being crucified
beside him in the Gospel of Luke
reaching out to the unclean person whose
body would receive a dishonorable burial
as a cursed and shamed object Jesus even
promised that this man would come to
paradise with him. For liberation
theologian and Roman Catholic priest
John Sabrino, the cross on which God is
placed is the most eloquent proclamation
that God does love the victimized of the
world. On the cross God's love is
impotent yet believable. For Sabrino the
practice of justice is a basic material
demand of the Gospel without which the
Gospel would be
substantially mutilated. In the 21st
century social justice for the poor and
the marginalized includes all those that
the world considers different or lesser
worth. Social justice today means
welcoming persons who are underemployed
or unemployed, oppressed by the economic
system, homeless or homebound, neglected
by family and society, orphaned, mentally
ill, physically disabled, victims of
domestic violence, immigrants seeking
safety or employment to feed their
hungry families, person suffering with
hiv/aids, and anyone who is marginalized
because of race, gender, culture, or sexual
orientation. All are to be
unconditionally welcomed. All are to
receive kindness and compassion. All are
to receive exceptional patient care.
The church has been compassionately
involved with helping, advocating with
and for the marginalized throughout the
centuries. Week 5 required reading
includes several biblical texts which
focus on the biblical mandate for
justice, an article which explains
Catholic social teachings, and a chapter
in each of the two main textbooks. There
also is a brief overview on how the
biblical roots of social justice has
continued to be taken seriously by
people of faith through the centuries.
The week 5 discussion forum includes a
choice between two main themes you may
choose either social justice and
healthcare reform or the mandate for
environmental responsibility in
healthcare. You are to surf the
University of St. Mary library or the
web to find an article or topic related
to social justice and healthcare or
related to the mandate for environmental
responsibility and healthcare. You're
going to post that the link in the class
forum. Write a 350 to 400 word response
arguing for or against the prevailing
view point of the article that you post.
Explain why you agree or disagree;
include parenthetical references that
tie your argument with one of the
assigned readings for the week.
You might also want to surf the web for
your place of employment and include
the posted views of your
institution (with reference)
in remarks. The reading and the forum
conversation are important because they
make the connection between the
theological roots of social justice and
the mission of patient care from a
theological perspective
