The Jesus Movement: The Am-ha-aretz’s
Arts of Resistance for Justice and Humanhood
By: Laldanmawia
………13 August
2012……………………………………………...……………………………
Introduction:
The person and works of Jesus
Christ are taken into consideration to imply for different aspects of life,
particularly to the right sides of situation. If it is in the subject of
Justice and Humanhood, his personhood and teachings can be used to make
judgment or verdict. Likewise he is very inclusive, as well as tyranny but to
the unhealthy situation. Meanwhile, to promote indigenous and marginalized
people’s resistance for their justice and dignity, He becomes on their sides.
And His teachings and His life can be studied in these ways. Then we will
discuss more by looking up to the topic called Jesus Movement: The am-ha-aretz arts of resistance for Justice and
Humanhood.
1. Definition of the Terms:
1.1. Am-ha-aretz: The
word Am-ha-aretz is a Hebrew term combining of two words like ‘am’ (עם) and ‘eretz’(ארץ), which means people
and earth/land respectively.[1]
The full form ‘am-ha-aretz’ can be translated as ‘people of the land’. It refers to the Jews primarily. It is a Hebrew
Biblical term which occurs 52 times (e.g. Genesis 13:7, Leviticus 4:27, Exodus
5:5, etc.)[2] It is
appropriate to define it as indigenous people. At the same time there can be
another dimension, i.e. calling someone with feeling of putting down from
normal level, because it means an ignorant or boorish person.[3]
In today’s contemporary world,
when we say am-ha-aretz, we can focus to the people of land of every country,
particularly to the native or indigenous dweller who need an upliftment from
various kinds of exploitation. It considers the marginalized people in the
society. Bringing to the Indian situation, we can term it as Adivasi.
1.2. Justice: The 21st
Century Dictionary defines Justice as “the quality of being just; just treatment;
fairness”. It is a concept of moral rightness which is based on ethics,
rationality, law, natural law, religion or equity. It is also the act of being
just or fair. John Rawls claims that, “Justice is the first virtue of Social
institutions, as truth is of system of thought”.[4] It is the rightness of thought to be
practiced in the social life. But Justice is a very controversial
subject which we can discuss from different understanding and definitions like
Justice as Divine command, as harmony, as natural law, as human creation, as
mutual agreement, as subordinate value, etc.[5]
In a Biblical term, the Old
Testament uses the words mispat and tsedeqah which are more related to
righteousness, whereas, New Testament uses the Greek word dikaiosune
which also can be translated as righteousness.[6] In individual and personal usage, justice is
appropriately defined as individual righteousness, but in a community usage it
consists more of maintaining right, equality and peace among the people.
1.3. Humanhood: The word is strange and uncommon even to the
dictionaries of different edition as well as online dictionaries. It is hard to
find the clear cut definition. But we can relate it to the words personhood and
humanness, and it has some relations to the word humanity as well. From that
perspective we can define Humanhood.
Personhood is the status of
being a person, and is the state or condition of being a person, especially
having those qualities that confer distinct individuality.[7] Humanness
refers to the quality of being human. And Humanity also implies the
qualities of human beings, especially in being kind or merciful.[8] Then Humanhood
can be defined as the condition or the quality of being human/person
particularly in reflecting his/her nature, dignity and quality. It focuses on the
equality of every person irrespective of race, caste, sex, colour, ethnic,
class, possession, etc.
2.
How does Jesus Movement becomes Am-ha-aretz?
The paper will go straight to the
point (by hoping that there is no need of explaining first what Jesus movement
is) that how Jesus movement can be the am-ha-aretz’s exposition. To address
this issue some portions of the Gospels can be made use for encountering with the
point mentioned above:
2.1. He proclaims good news for
the marginalized people (Luke 4: 18-19): The given texts is from the
Hebrew Scripture of Isaiah, read by Jesus Christ in the synagogue, which talks
about justice for the poor, the prisoners, the blind and the oppressed.
Jesus himself is the answer for what Isaiah is talking about, He is to bring
the justice and humanhood for all the marginalized people.
2.2. He heals the sick: Jesus
healing ministry shows that he is caring for them and their humanity. He opens
the block of the people who cannot fulfill their justice and humanhood because
of different sickness and diseases.
2.3. He makes parable using Samaritan
man (Luke 10: 25-37): He teaches the parable of Good
Samaritan. For the Jews, Samaritan would not bring good things because they are
people with same level of dog and are untouchable. But Jesus uses him to teach
lesson to the people; by dehumanizing priest and Levite to whom righteousness
is claimed to be there.
2.4. He visits marginalized people
(Luke 19:1-10; John 4: 1-42; Luke 10: 38ff): Jesus even visits the marginalized people like
Zacchaeus, Samaritan woman, Martha and Mary. They are not thought to be visited
by being Jewish teacher. But Jesus wants to break the unnecessary boundary
among the people of the land.
There can also be other points for
Jesus’ concerns about the am-ha-aretz. But merely by looking the above four
points, we can come to conclusion that Jesus movement is toward am-ha-aretz.
3.
The Am-ha-aretz’s Arts of Resistance for Justice:
Why do the indigenous people needs
a resistant for their Justice? What is the problem? How does Jesus focus about
them? How can we make use Jesus Movement for the arts of resistance for the
Justice of am-ha-aretz? By giving some approaches along with answering all
these entire questions, we will try to make clear the point ‘the am-ha-aretz arts of resistance for
Justice’.
3.1. Through Creation: Every person is
created in the likeness and resembling of God (Gen 1:26). There is no point to
make difference between human beings since all are God’s image. But because of
development of the world and as time’s passing, differentiation have been
developed in diverse ways. Then there came unjust treatment and approaching to
each other. Women, poor, minority, people with some kind of diseases,
uncivilized people, etc. are the main sufferers. Why do these people get unjust
treatment? It is not fair at all for them, because they are also created in the
image of God having dignity, right, and value. Then to resist justice, equality
of being made should be one important aspect.
3.2. They are original
inhabitant: The indigenous people but minority in number in different places and
times are big sufferers of injustice. Their lands are confiscated by the
immigrant bigger groups of people. What is Justice for them? To live in their
mother land with peace is what their cry for. Jesus deals with the original
dwellers like Samaritan (John 4: 1-41). Other Jewish people may not like to go
there, but Jesus dares to do justice for them.
3.3. Opposing racism and
discrimination: The lepers, Samaritans, gentiles, tax collectors, women and the poor
are the groups who suffer racism and discrimination from the Jewish society.
Jesus is indeed a Jew, but has positive attitude toward them. His opposition to
racism and discrimination, and his acceptance for them could be found in some
gospel accounts like: Luke 6:20 (poor); Matthew 14:3-9, Luke 8:1-3 (women);
Luke 10:30-37, John 4:10ff (Samaritan); Luke 17: 11-19 (lepers); Luke 19:1-10
(tax collector), etc. In these chapters, Jesus had an encounter with such
marginalized people without hesitation, but with love and care in order to
bring their justice fulfill. It is the racism and discrimination, which eradicated
the justice of the people.
4.
The Am-ha-aretz’s Arts of Resistance for Humanhood:
4.1. Incarnation to be
Am-ha-aretz: The word became flesh and incarnated into human being, to be
human, and to live among the people. Jesus incarnation to be a Jew ensures his
humanhood. He lives, works, walks, acts, eats, sleeps, suffers and dies as the
dweller of the Canaan land. He is indigenous man, aboriginal and Adivasi of the
Canaan and he has self dignity and right as human to develop himself. Then the
indigenous man Jesus fulfills himself first his humanhood according to the
situation where he lived, in order to let the am-ha-aretz for their resistance
of humanhood.
4.2. Jesus: Healing and parables:
And then he works for the resistance of humanhood of women, sick,
lepers, poor, gentiles etc by healing and nurturing, so that their humanness
will be fulfilled. It is Jesus movement which maintains and keeps the humanhood
of the am-ha-aretz.
Jesus indicates his view of God
and human being clearly in his parables. He often relates everyday situation in
which people could find themselves. He introduces them new pictures of God and
their fellow human being through parables.[9] He
even tries to resist the dignity and humanhood of women by putting up in the
role of the parable (like Luke 15:8-10).
4.3. The Passion Narrative: Jesus’
humanhood and his view toward other’s humanhood can be seen in his passion
narrative. The way of Jesus through suffering to death on the cross and
resurrection is interpreted in the gospel Luke in such a way that we may
recognize our way in it.[10] A
look at Jesus way will encourage the am-ha-aretz to endure their humanity.
Jesus divinity has been scattered down and died with pain to fulfill his
humanhood. It is right to suffer as human being, but suffering will ensure the
humanness of all kinds of people.
Conclusion
Our justice and humanhood have
been exploited many a time by our fellow human beings in different ways and
means. At the same time we ourselves also do unjust reaction to our neighbors
in the midst of self-centredness. Life is going with this mutual unhealthy
reaction. In the mean time, there are people those who get unfair and unjust
approaches from the higher and bigger people, who ruled them and chased them
out of their mother land. To exercise their justice and humanhood for them is
somewhat like impossible, because their dignity have been exploited. For
indigenous people, resisting of their justice and humanhood can be a lifetime
struggle, since migration is taken commonly. But this is their task that they
need to keep their life grow in peace. To maintain peace among them, they have
to fulfill their justice and humanhood first. As we have discussed, Jesus takes
steps towards the resistance of justice and humanhood of the am-ha-aretz by
putting himself in to practice. Resistance for justice and humanhood is not the
task for mere the am-ha-aretz themselves, but it has to be maintained and
fulfilled with the keeping of mutual understanding between them and the higher
class people.
Bibliography:
Kelly,
Paul H. Biblical Hebrew: An
Introductory Grammar. Michigan:
William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company,
1992.
Grun, Anselm. Jesus: The Image of Humanity. New York:
Continuum, 2003.
Fonester, Duncan. “Justice” in The
Oxford Companion to Christian Thought. Edited by
Adrian
Hastings , Alistair Mason and Hugh Pyper. New York: Oxford University
Press,
2000.
Webliography:
http://www.thejc.com/judaism/jewish-words/am-ha-aretz
(5
August 2012).
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=Personhood
(8 August 2012).
http://peacetheology.net/restorative-justice/6-jesus-and-justice/ (9 August 2012).
[1]
Paul H. Kelly, Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar. (Michigan: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1992), 375-392.
[4]
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/justice
(6 August 2012).
[5]
Duncan Fonester, “Justice” in The Oxford
Companion to Christian Thought. Edited by Adrian Hastings , Alistair Mason and Hugh Pyper (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 361.
[7]
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=Personhood
(8 August 2012).
[8]
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=Humanness (8 August 2012).
[9]
Anselm Grun, Jesus: The Image of Humanity
(New York: Continuum, 2003), 53.
[10]
Anselm Grun, Jesus: The Image of Humanity
(New York: Continuum, 2003), 89.
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