Kerygma of Joy for Defending Minority: Compassion Theology for Redemption  in The World of Chaos

Gregorius Daru Wijoyoko

doi:10.24071/jaot.v7i2.10499

Kerygma of Joy for Defending Minority: Compassion Theology for Redemption in The World of Chaos

Gregorius Daru Wijoyoko^(1*),

(1) (SINTA ID: 6794325) STPKat Santo Fransiskus Asisi Semarang
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

In a world marked by human suffering, systemic injustice, global crisis and marginalization of minority groups, the Christian proclamation of joy, kerygma, may seem counterintuitive or insufficient. However, this article argues that the Kerygma of Joy, as articulated in Evangelii Gaudium by Pope Francis, offers not only a spiritual vision but also a theological and pastoral praxis for defending minorities. Joy, in this framework, is not temporary happiness but a radical affirmation of human dignity in the face of suffering and exclusion. Drawing on biblical sources, patristic insights, and contemporary theological voices, particularly J.B Metz theology, this article explores how kerygma of joy becomes a counter-cultural stance that resists despair, empowers witness, and fosters solidarity with the marginalized. It further engages real-world contexts where Christian communities live out this joyful resistance in defense of minority identities, including religious, ethnic, and socio-political minorities. The article concludes by offering a pastoral vision that reclaims joy as an eschatological sign and a missionary strategy. In doing so, it invites the global Church to redefine evangelization not as cultural dominance or institutional expansion but as embodied compassion, dangerous memory, and solidarity in joy with those on the peripheries.

Keywords

Kerygma of Joy, J.B Metz Compassion Theology, Intercultural Theology, Human Suffering

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/jaot.v7i2.10499