CARING FOR THE POOR: AUGUSTINE’S PERSPECTIVE VIS-À-VIS LUKE’S READINGS OF “MOSES AND THE PROPHETS”
PUBLISHED IN AD SAPIENTIAM VOLUME VII 2008, COPYRIGHT: ISSN 2012-290X
LAZARO N. ERVITE, OSA
ABSTRACT
This paper delves into elements of Augustine’s thoughts on caring for the poor particularly his interpretation of Lk 16:19-31 vis-à-vis Luke’s interpretation of the Hebrew Scripture’s teachings on caring for the poor. Both Augustine and the Scriptures see poverty negatively. Both see the oppression of the poor as bringing about the reversal motif which runs through the entire Scriptures and is illustrated in Lk 16:19-31. The Scriptures’ insistence on serving justice in this life complements Augustine’s tendency to seek ultimate justice . Luke’s amplification of the and the command to love one’s neighbor into the imperative “Listen to Moses and the Prophets” supports Augustine’s exhortation on loving one’s neighbor as a way of loving God.