Prayer of the spiritually oppressed

Today’s readings especially bring hope to the oppressed. They speak of God’s ways as different from those of man. Those who trust in the Lord can rest assured that they will be protected on earth and rewarded in Heaven.

In the First Reading (Sir 35: 12-14, 16-18), the reassuring message is that God is fair, though not unduly partial toward the weak. He lends a listening ear to those who call on Him, responds to our prayers, and does justice to the righteous. This is a far cry from human justice, which is vitiated by relativistic thinking and prompted by friendships and self-interest.

When our miserable world speaks of justice or injustice, it is usually on the material plane. However, material oppression, be it physical or economic, is not only one that we ought to be concerned about. Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from God’s mouth.

The oppression of the spirit is the worst form of oppression. The spiritually oppressed are those who find themselves unable to realise, or are prevented from realising, their raison d’être in this world: the realisation of God’s kingdom. Ironically, some of those who, by virtue of their holy office, are obliged to let God’s kingdom come, simply take God for granted.

Others assume a spiritual superiority vis-à-vis the man in the street. They may be so hard-hearted that they fail to empathise with the poor sinner who has had a change of heart. Hence, our Lord’s words of indignation are as follows: ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law, and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven from men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those who are trying to enter.’ (Mt 13)

In the Gospel (Lk 18: 9-14), the Parable of the Pharisee assumes that he has a hotline with God. He despises the tax collector, who is at the receiving end of society.

Can the Pharisee’s mere observance of the letter of the law allow him to take the moral high ground? Perhaps the major difference with their counterparts in our times is that they take the moral high ground even when they blatantly break the traditional and written law. Like Satan in Paradise Lost, they say: ‘Evil, be thou my good.’

Thankfully, in St Paul (2 Tim 4: 6-8, 16-18), we have an advocate for the spiritually oppressed. He announces that when he was on the point of being sacrificed, the Lord rescued him from the lion’s mouth, from every evil, and gave him the strength to proclaim the Word fully—that all Gentiles may hear it!

Woe to those who seek to silence rather than proclaim the Word of God. This is the worst kind of oppression that the spirit can endure. For example, freedom of religion—to practise and preach—is a fundamental right, which is in peril in our country and in many other parts of the world.

Of course, those who have given their heart and soul to Jesus Christ will endure just anything with serenity and joy, and when their time is up, they will gladly say: ‘I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.’

This moral certainty will be the crowning glory of the prayer of the spiritually oppressed.