While many of us have heard a one-dimensional gospel \u2014 the spiritual forgiveness of sin \u2014 the gospel Jesus preached did not dwell exclusively in the spiritual plane. He was not just restoring the spiritual being, but the whole human being. He said as much in his first public sermon, when he quoted the prophet Isaiah: \u201cThe Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord\u2019s favour,\u201d (Luke 4:18-19).<\/p>\n
If you look at Jesus\u2019s ministry \u2014 especially his healings \u2014 you\u2019ll notice this thread running throughout: the leper who can now return to the city; the adulterous woman who is no longer condemned; the demon-possessed man who is no longer an outcast; the hated Samaritan who is now a hero.<\/p>\n
In sum, Jesus was restoring people\u2019s God-given human dignity \u2014 their Imago-Dei.<\/p>\n
Coming from India, I am keenly aware of what happens when people are robbed of their dignity.<\/p>\n
For example, as I write this, women in India are fighting for the right to enter a temple in Kerala. For centuries, women of menstruating age were barred from the site, but in September, the Supreme Court lifted the ban. Four months later, only a handful of women have managed to get in, and that under the cover of night and heavy security.<\/p>\n
The story of the Dalits \u2014 whom you might have heard called \u201cuntouchables\u201d \u2014 is another case of an entire people being robbed of their dignity.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n “At heart, the Dalit struggle is a struggle for recovering their God-given human dignity. To them, the gospel is not simply about going to heaven \u2014 they need heaven to come down to them because they are living in hell on earth.” Joseph D’Souza of @DFN_USA<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/Ng872g7auL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The KAIROS Company (@thekairosco) January 28, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n