Solidarity with the Powerless 

I have come to believe that there are few things more expressive of a seriously lived spiritual life than ‘solidarity.’ To walk the long lonesome mile with the multitude of shoeless ones, in this beautiful but broken world, is where the real fruit of the mystic endeavor fully ripens. Feminist theologian Elizabeth Johnson captures the essence of solidarity well when she writes, 

“Solidarity is a type of communion in which deep connection with others is forged in such a way that their sufferings and joys become part of one’s own personal concern and a spur to transformative action. It entails a movement out of a selfish seclusion and into relationship where people bear one another up in mutual giving and receiving.” ¹

Jon Sobrino, one of the champions of liberation theology, highlights the revolutionary nature of the still fledgling liberation movement within Christianity, when he implores that;

“In history there is no such thing as love without solidarity and there is no solidarity without incarnation. Solidarity that was not prepared to share the lot of those with whom it wanted to show solidarity would be paternalism, to put it mildly, or would lead to despotism. Solidarity in a world of victims that was not prepared to become a victim would in the end not be solidarity.” ²

This is bottom-up spirituality writ-large. Make no mistake, the solidarity of the liberationists is not seeking to tamper at the edges of the greed fueled, elitist, dysfunctional systems that continue to decimate large swaths humanity and the earth’s eco-systems. They are rather, seeking to dismantle centuries of exploitative and unjust economic, social, and spiritual oppression. ³

What must also be understood as emphatic, is that the liberationist concept of solidarity goes right back to the Galilean who was nailed to a tree. It is none other than his overt concern for the multitudes of the poor from every age, who are effectively crucified on the cross with him, which gives liberation theology its depth and weight.

The revolutionary urge within this movement has not failed to capture the attention of the black belt rule makers within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. These fella’s fully clothed with Roman power, are not silly, they know a challenge when see one.

Consequently Sobrino has joined a long list of distinguished theologians including the above quoted Elizabeth Johnson, who stand accused of doctrinal malfeasance.⁴ These boys play rough, and they have left no available stone unturned in their efforts to silence those who don’t toe the traditional party line.

What may not be obvious, however, is that in their considerable efforts to disenfranchise the likes of Sobrino. These high-ranking accusers, aligned as they are to elite hierarchy, are fully exposed as being well and truly part of the entrenched problem.  

The kinds of Christological and other doctrinal issues that are raised by these elite officials are not without merit. But the liberation folks are asking different and vital questions, like was Jesus in solidarity with the poor or with the elites of his day? Moreover, given what can be known about him, is it entirely reasonable to use ‘liberator’ as a defining descriptor of the ‘God with skin on man’? Did he, hang-out almost exclusively with the seriously marginalized and even make apostles of them? Was he even onto death advocating a revolutionary re-ordering of elitist social and religious structures? And importantly, what does all that say about the revolution that his followers of today are supposed to pursue?

The liberationists are all about that guy, the liberation fella, who does the solidarity thing both then and now with the poor. More about that in my next post! 

1. Elizabeth A. Johnson, Friends of God and Prophets: A Feminist Theological Reading of the Communion of Saints (New York: The Continuum Publishing Co., 1998), 175. [↩]
2. Jon Sobrino, Jesus the Liberator: A Historical-Theological View (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993), 244-45. [↩]

3. Stephen Bede. Scharper, “Option for the Poor and Option for the Earth: Toward a Sustainable Solidarity,” in The Preferential Option for the Poor Beyond Theology, ed. Daniel G. Groody and Gustavo A Gutierrez (Notre Dame IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2013), 83-119. [↩]

4. Bradford E, Hinze “A Decade of Disciplining Theologians,” in When the Magisterium Intervenes: The Magisterium and Theologians in Today’s Church: Includes a Case Study on the Doctrinal Investigation of Elizabeth Johnson, ed. Richard R. Gaillardetz (Collegeville, Minn. Liturgical Press, 2012), 3-39. [↩]