Here in the parable of the landowner hiring workers to his vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16) Jesus presents to us a special kind of poor: the unemployed, the jobless, and those who seek and not able to get a job. The unemployed live in a vulnerable situation, they are underprivileged because they lack the capacity to earn a living for a decent existence, and therefore they are poor. What is the use of having astounding gifts and abilities if we are unemployed? What can a man or woman do with a lousy day searching for work; it has no medal for efforts. Though Universal Declaration of Human rights by the UN in 1948 in its article 23 recognises that everyone has the right to work, free choice of employment, just and favourable conditions of work, and to protection against unemployment; most developing economies face a huge unemployment crisis. As a byproduct of this crisis comes cheap labour, underpaid jobs, and workers’ exploitation. As the master walked through the streets, I would think...
Verse 35, "Be ready, dressed for service, and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet" summarises Luke 12:35-48. On July 25, 2025, two sisters, Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, belonging to the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, were arrested at Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh by police in connivance with Bajrang Dal, accusing them of human trafficking and forced conversion. Going beyond the false accusations that were leveled against them, we learn that those sisters were caring for leprosy patients. A minor Malayalam newspaper, Jeevanadham , reporting this news had this caption, eni namukku unarnnirikkam , meaning, "now on let us be awake and alert." The gospel and the incident that unfolded recently urge us to be watchful, ready, alert, and prepared. What do they imply? It simply means to continue to speak up, show up, stand up, defend the poor, and so on. Apparent delay, darkness, uncertainty,...