Reading Luke from the margins: ‘Dialectica Reconciliae’ and anti-imperial optics compared

Abstract

This article presents a comparative theological analysis of two South African readings of the Gospel of Luke, each shaped by distinct socio-political contexts. Welile Mazamisa’s, ‘Beatific Comradeship’, developed during apartheid, proposes a ‘Dialectica Reconciliae’ rooted in Gadamerian hermeneutics and the Parable of the Good Samaritan to foster relational reconciliation. In contrast, Motuku’s ‘imperial-critical’ reading of the Zacchaeus narrative (Luke 19:1–10), interrogates post-apartheid economic injustice and land dispossession. While differing in methodology, both approaches converge in their commitment to a socially engaged Lukan ethic. The article argues that genuine reconciliation in South Africa must integrate relational and material dimensions, challenging spiritualised readings that ignore systemic inequality. By reading Luke ‘from the margins’, the article repositions the Gospel as a living text that speaks to the ethical imperatives of justice, restitution and solidarity.
Contribution: The synthesis of these two readings contributes to a broader Lukan hermeneutic that is both contextually grounded and theologically transformative, offering a compelling vision for faith-based engagement with structural injustice from the margins.