it's all about me... right?

My small group has been reading through Isaiah. We've been especially struck by how much God hates pride, His condemnation of those who live as though there’s nothing wrong when things are very wrong, and our smug self-centeredness. In addition, I’ve been feeling somewhat fearful about the future of our nation. Conservatives forecast dark days ahead and their predictions can discourage even the most optimistic among us (which I am not!). On top of the economy, the war in Iraq, our lingering presence in Afghanistan, the tension between Iran and Israel, the elections, and the doom of the first half of Isaiah (we discussed 15-24, last night), for the last week I’ve been making my way through a video on the early Church. Yesterday it concluded with the crucifixion of Peter, beheading of Paul, children being fed to dogs, and the general persecution of Roman Christians under Nero. And I became very afraid (not to mention that when I fell down the stairs, last month, I was faced with my wimpishly low pain tolerance. I remember sitting in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, trying to steady my breathing, and thinking that I'd totally renounce Christ if ever tortured, and that I'd never manage to have a child without an epidural).

And then like a brick it hit me that the persecution I feared for the future is a present reality for much of the Christian world. Present. Meaning that it’s happening now. Happening not even to strangers, but to my “brothers and sisters.” Yet I don’t really care because it doesn’t affect me, personally. In Amos 6:1-7, God challenges His people (who are currently living comfortably in Jerusalem and Samaria) to look around them at the cities that have already fallen to the Assyrians. “Do you really think you’re so much stronger than them?” God asks. “Hello! If they’ve already been destroyed, why in the world are you still thinking that nothing bad is going to come to you?” (my paraphrase). He then condemns them for going about their lives- enjoying nice furniture, eating good food, buying non-essentials like nice lotion- not caring about everything that’s happening all around them, because they aren’t personally experiencing pain. Yet. For their complacency, God says that they will be the first to be taken into exile.

In Isaiah 22:12-13 and then 24:7-8, God seems to be critical of those who are enjoying this life. But God gave us all of these good gifts, right? Doesn’t that mean we should just enjoy them and be grateful? But then I thought about James 4:9: “Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.” That sounds a lot like these verses in Isaiah. But why? Again, He created a good world for us to enjoy, right? I was so confused. And then it hit me: right now, the world is NOT good. Right now God has permitted evil to reign and the whole creation is under a curse. Right now, I think I’d have to agree with God’s state-of-the-world address in 24:5- “The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.” And then all of the sudden the beatitudes made sense to me, for the first time in my entire life (italics are my additions):

Blessed are the poor in spirit who walk humbly before God- for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn that this is NOT the way things are supposed to be- for they will be comforted when all things are made new.

Blessed are the meek who are unassuming, don’t demand their rights, and humbly serve one another, following the example of their Master- for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness to govern this earth- not just personal holiness, but the righteousness and justice upon which the world was founded. Blessed are they who long to see justice come to those who abuse power and wealth to oppress others because they think that no one will stop them. Blessed are they who recognize that there are limits to the laws of supply and demand, that the invisible hand does not inevitably provide for the needs of societies’ most vulnerable members. Blessed are they who long for an equitable distribution of the earth’s resources- for they will be filled when the Lord judges the earth, which He certainly will do.

Blessed are the merciful who extend mercy to the undeserving, because they understand the extent to which God has had mercy on them- for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart who are not distracted and seduced by their natural desires, but wholeheartedly want to see God’s kingdom come. This includes seeking God’s kingdom MORE than personal comfort- for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers who walk in their Father’s footsteps of working for peace and reconciliation- for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake- for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We are supposed to be living as foreigners, here. We are aliens. This is not our home. This is not the way life was supposed to be. We close our eyes to the injustices and pain of the world, much as the Israelites did when the surrounding nations were being crushed by Assyria. We turn off the news because we don’t want to hear any more about wars and rumors of wars in the Balkans, suicide bombings in the Middle East, stonings in Africa, hostages taken by terrorists, aid-workers killed by radicals, converts mutilated by family members, pastors’ families beaten with iron rods by the governing authorities, Church leaders being sentenced to years of reeducation in labor camps, and Christian schools collapsing on hundreds of children. We turn our heads, close our eyes, turn off the television, and forget about it all. We lay down on our beds inlaid with ivory, eat our choice meats, drink our wine, use our lotions, and refuse to create space in our hearts to mourn for Jacob. Because the destruction has yet to reach our front door, we ignore it and enjoy our lives, pretending that we are living in the good world that God intended. But we’re not. I don’t have the answers. I don’t know how we should live when our brothers and sisters are suffering and we are not. But I know that we cannot continue living as if nothing is wrong. We cannot. We must not.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out-
because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out-
because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out-
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, but I did not speak out-
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me-
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

written by Martin Niemoeller, a German Christian, in 1945