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| The "Enlightened One" who takes sides |
Thich Nhat Hanh rejects the idea that God takes sides with the poor against the rich, observing that the rich suffer too sometimes more than the poor. He writes, "God embraces both rich and poor, and he wants them to understand each other, to share with each other their suffering and their happiness, and to work together for peace and social justice." (page 80) If we understand God's will, we won't take sides. Thich Nhat Hanh contends that his views do not allow social injustice to continue and that if we understand the true cause of social injustice we won't condemn any class of people. Instead, we will respond to injustice with love and understanding. He concludes, "Any dualistic response, any response motivated by anger, will only make the situation worse."
On the face of it, Thich Nhat Hanh's views are not biblical—and they are. If the four gospels are any witness, then Jesus consistently took the side of the poor against the powerful and wealthy. That was what got him executed on the cross as a rebel against Roman (and Jewish) authority. The Old Testament prophets also habitually spoke on behalf of the "orphans and widows" when they cried out against the injustices of the wealthy and powerful. At the same time, Thich Nhat Hanh captures something of the spirit of the Bible in his observation that angry, divisive attacks on wealth in the name of the poor only make matters worse. My sense is that we have here a tension that comes close to the heart of the Christian faith, or lat least one important aspect of our faith. Our Judeo-Christian heritage is rooted in a demand for social and economic justice, and we are called upon to resist oppression and corruption. We, in fact, do take sides with the poor (at least, that's our heritage; whether we do it or not is another story). Yet, we are also called to leave vengeance to God (that is drop it altogether) and practice peace, kindness, gentleness, patience, and all of the other gifts & fruits of the Spirit. We are to resist injustice but to do so peaceably. There is a fine line there that we have to wrestle with, and it is important that we do so.
As an aside, we have to remain aware that Thich Nhat Hanh may not be using the word "God" in quite the way we do in the West. When he says God doesn't want us to take sides, he's coming at things from a different perspective, one we need to listen to, but not one that constrains us to reject the idea that in our tradition God has persistently taken sides and will continue to do so until the Kingdom comes. Hasten the day, Lord. Amen.
