Which bible verses do you tend to claim for yourself?  And perhaps as importantly, which ones do you not claim for yourself?  We tend to be pretty selective when it comes to the scriptures we read or don’t read.  Even within one book, even one chapter, we can claim a verse and ignore the next.  If we truly are a “people of the book”, we need to be a people of the WHOLE book.

Our readings in Isaiah are a great example.  Who among us hasn’t read, heard, or sung part of chapter 52, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'”? 

Yet who among us has read, heard, or sung the verses immediately preceding this, “‘For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,’ declares the Lord. ‘And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it.'”?

We ignore anything the prophets speak about our poor worship practices, our selfish ambitions, and the consequences of our idolatry.  We decide that these verses are for Israel, foretelling their Assyrian or Babylonian captivities.  But the truth is that we ignore these passages to our own peril.

We need to read the comfort passages right alongside the accusation passages.  We need to take heed of God’s warnings as much as God’s grace.  We need to begin to see the whole picture of scripture, not just the parts we like.  Otherwise, we are doomed to repeat the problems of our spiritual ancestors, to turn away from Christ in action if not in word, and to become “practical atheists” and suffer the same fate as literal ones.

What do we in the First World do with the bible’s promise of persecution?  This is not the persecution of sickness, or disobedient kids, or only having 1 house and 3 cars.  It is not the persecution of accumulated debt or anxiety or age.  The bible’s promise of persecution is the promise that this world and those in it will attack, demean, and attempt to stop us from sharing our message of God’s Kingdom and grace.  And this is a problem for us in America.

When was the last time you were persecuted like this for your faith?  Persecution is seldom an issue for us, and so we go to great lengths to find it.  We claim politicians and liberal media and fundamentalists and popular culture are persecuting us by disagreeing with our message.  But disagreement is not persecution.  Who among us has lost our job ONLY because of our faith?  Been attacked physically ONLY because of our faith?  Lost something of value ONLY because of our faith?  This is persecution, and we in American suburbia do not know it personally.

Is the lack of persecution because of “American religious freedom”?  Is it because God has protected us?  Is it because we have slyly gone about our subversive message of the coming Kingdom “off the radar”?  Or might it be more likely that we are simply no threat to our persecutors because we are not spreading the message with any effectiveness or enthusiasm?  Persecution comes when people don’t like what we are doing, as was the case in most every early church of Paul’s day.  But today our churches are far more likely to be aiding and abetting our cultural forces, our financial idols, and anyone who would persecute us.

Does the church today have the courage to take the stand to which we are called and live so differently than the world around us that we draw attention to ourselves?  Are we willing to speak the truth of God’s grace in such a way that we become a threat to both the society around us that wants our devotion and the Organized Religious Leaders who want the status quo?

Are we willing to stand for Jesus at work, school, neighborhood, church, and family even if this means persecution?