Mt.22:15-21
8th October 2020 had shocking news to share. Fr. Stan Swamy, an 83-year-old Jesuit priest was falsely accused of his Maoist links and arrested by The national investigation agency (NIA) in connection with the 2018 violence at Bhima Koregaon village in Maharastra. He was only a suspected–accused of the violence. At the very outset, it is evident that the reason behind Fr. Stan’s arrest is motivated by hidden political agendas. When we know the background of his social involvement we will understand why people in authority are fearful of this old priest.
Fr. Stan was there at the forefront of the fight for justice and rights of the Adivasi’s of Jharkhand. When Uranium Corporation of India started Uranium mining in this area, he started a campaign to defend the rights of the local people. Again, the construction of the dam in Chaibasa was stopped by the tireless effort and social awareness created under the leadership of Fr. Stan. If not many Adivasi families could have lost their residence. Several youngsters of this region were falsely accused of Maoist links and imprisoned. They were unable to get any legal help because of their extreme poverty. Fr. Stan, through his intervention and legal fights, tried to save these young people from these false allegations.
In past months, he cooperated with NIA for fifteen hours on different days in their questioning sessions. His house was already twice and collected certain extract allegedly from his personal computer. They used these materials to accuse him of his Maoist connection. Even though he expressed his difficulty to make a journey to Mumbai, risking his life at this pandemic time, his plea was denied and he was arrested and sent to judicial custody until 23 October.
Our life is very much is influenced by the governance of our authorities. The policies that they adapt could even change the story of our life too. When we analyze the world scenario we see varied forms of government such as democratic, military administration, monarchy, autocratic, etc. Each government follows a particular ideology that guides their rule of administration. Some of these governments, indeed use their power to serve their citizens whereas others use their citizens to defend their power. The human right violations, lack of freedom of expression in certain countries underlines the fact that they use their power not to serve people rather implement their ideology and to safeguard power in their hands.
In today’s gospel, we see the analysis of a political situation wherein we see a person asking Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar? This is one of the trickiest questions that Jesus encountered in his public ministry. The Jews were under Roman imperial rule. When we analyze the history of the Jewish nation, we understand that they had to carry the yoke of slavery under the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Romans.
When we understand the Roman imperial system we could observe that they respected the individual identity of the nation and the people. There is a certain amount of freedom in their respective provinces. There was a reign of peace as a result of the efficient Roman administration. Anyhow, the Romans, could not digest or approve the religiosity of the Jews for them Caesar was the supreme authority and equal to God.
The irreligious attitude and high tax system caused hatred of Jews against the Romans. They strongly felt that Roman would destroy their Jewish nation by destroying their religion, culture, language, etc. Jewish people wanted to get rid of the yoke of Roman slavery. Many groups among them started to fight against this administrative system. In this context, we need to understand the question posed to Jesus. They expected that the answer of Jesus could have been supporting one side and they could accuse Jesus. However, Jesus gives a prudent answer that exhorting them to give due honour and respect to both the parties. The answer of Jesus was not in favour of one side, he exhorted them to give the demanded taxes correctly without fail. Similarly, give the due respect to God that upholds the Shema Israel God above all. As they follow the rules of the state, they were called to proclaim the fact that Yahweh is one and only true God, the almighty, and their sovereign.
What is our response to this passage in our times? We indeed need to respect our authorities and acknowledge their achievements and efficiency. At the same time, we should have the courage to be a correctional force, if the government denies the constitutional rights of the citizens. ‘Give to God what belongs to him,’ this includes our concern for our fellow brethren who are deprived of their basic rights. Our spiritual worship incomplete without being the voice of this underprivileged because we failed to love our brethren as Jesus loved them.
The life of Fr. Stan is a typical example of following Jesus radically and living the gospel values in its fullness by risking one’s own life for the sake of the other. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit for the courage that we may be strengthened enough to give the respective due that belongs to God by being the voice of the voiceless. Let us continue to accompany Fr. Stan with our prayers and stand for his cause so that he may be freed at the earliest…