FR ISIAH DHLIWAYO

This theological reflection puts forward liberation theology as situational/contextual and aims to comprehensively seeks to give voice to the marginalized, powerless,needy and poor. It emphasizes salvation or redemption as an element of both the mundane world and an eschatological reality.
The society constitutes human beings who are socio,economic,political and historical realistic in their daily lives.The future happiness in heaven concept is a thorny in the flesh amongst Christians especially the poor who are continually getting poorer and poor with promises of a pie in the sky.To this Marxist socialist critique exposes social injustice as the fundamental cause of poverty.
According to Gutierrez (1988:83ff) he puts it forward that liberation praxis is a historical process that takes note of the totality of human history ,starting from creation to redemption.My thrust with regards to the poor draws attention in the backdrop of my contemporary life citing culture, political climate and church.
Thus the God of the covenant is present and still active among the poor of history.The preferential option for the poor and marginalized of society is eximiously revealed in the Exodus paradigm of liberation of Israel from captivity in Egypt and how God’s love for the poor is shown.
The poor are vital.Their journey to redemption and liberation shows that the poor are not only freed from oppression ,but they are given power to be proactive reminants and agents of their own history.Simple put forward,the poor are their own liberators ,they can liberate themselves from any exploitative and oppressive social structures of any kind.
Gustavo Gutierrez who is a protagonist (among others including Jon Sobrino,JoseMiguez Bonino,Leonardo Boff)for Liberation theology done in the context of massive abject poverty in Latin America together with his experience of living and working among the poor people of Rumac paints his works as vital to the discussion of this theological reflection.
We live amongst the poor and the community experiences the all and sundry of the poor ones.James 3:18(Msg) highlights the need to cultivate communities when he says that you can develop a healthy,robust community that lives right with God and enjoys its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other,treating each other with dignity and honor.It takes both Gods power and our effort to produce a loving Christian community together with the poor people.
Liberation Theology protagonist,Gutierrez works cites that poverty done in relation and identified with Jesus Christ who himself became poor to liberate us is really an evangelical exigency.,which critically exposes material poverty as dehumanizing and seriously divorced and never be a Christian ideal.
The parable of the Good Samaritan emphasizes precisely what preferential option for the poor is all about.God loves us all.The voiceless are given voices through adoption of liberation theology as it subvert history when the poor and marginalised erupt from the margins to the public space as they become proactive agents of their own history.
Thus according to (Gutierrez,cf.Gibellin 1979:12-14) at a conference held in 1968 known as Medellin Conference and after, poverty as an evangelical exigency was acknowledged as a truly Christian concept that can be reinterpreted and translated to solidarity with the poor, commitment to the liberation of the exploited classes and renewed involvement in radical liberation of the poor.Truly God has a salvific plan for both the poor, oppressed and oppressors.!

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