The Liberating Promise of Crucified Hope

Abstract

The work of liberation theologians, notably Jon Sobrino, has sought to give expression to Christian hope and the eschatological promise of the Kingdom from the context of the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed of history. From these contexts develops an understanding of Christian hope as a distinctly ‘crucified hope,’ emerging from both the sacrificial gift and the scandal of the cross. Building on Sobrino, this article develops an understanding of ‘crucified hope’ from the context of the current migration crisis, arguing that this hope begins where human optimism ends. Trust in the promise of the resurrection to which the Christian community witnesses empowers the crucified to respond to radical injustice and suffering. ‘Crucified hope’ thus shifts the focus of hope from the larger Christian community, participating in taking the crucified down from their crosses, to the crucified themselves and their actions of self-liberation.