By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. – Isaiah 53:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 27, 2013): Isaiah 53

I recently read a bit of a history on the subject of the church and slavery. What amazed me was that the universal church really did not take a stand on the issue of slavery until very late in the process. Part of the history included a story of two pastors from the same denomination, men who would have had to stand on the same platform at any of the major functions of the denomination. The two men, on a superficial level, were friends, but there was a deep divide in their relationship. One of the pastors was a slave owner, while the other was an abolitionist. And in the book these two men were held up as an ideal of how people of good character can form a friendship in spite of some very significant differences.

But as I read the story, I began to see something different. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that slavery is wrong. There is also no doubt in my mind that the church did not take a stand against slavery as early as it should. Our story has been the story of the abolitionist pastor standing on the platform with the slave owner. The only way I can imagine this relationship working is if both pastors put away their personal beliefs about slavery. And in some areas that is indeed a laudable occurrence. But there are a few issues where we deserve to be chastised for not standing up against the evils of this world – even when it comes in the disguise of religious belief. And, according to the Bible, one of those areas where we are action is required of us would be in any circumstance where someone is oppressed. We stand for those who can’t.

The Bible, for the most part, is God’s instructions to the oppressed of the world. This might be one of the reasons that the affluent sometimes seem to struggle with biblical meaning. If there is one constant, it would seem to be that God stands with the oppressed – and God stands with those that are judged. And I realize that often the oppression and judgment of policies in the past often seem to be clearer to us than any current oppression, but I also believe that we need to work at recognizing the oppression in our current beliefs. We need to stand up for those who suffer under judgment in our world – no matter where it is that we might find them.

Isaiah describes the Suffering Servant, who the Christian Church recognizes as Jesus, as being carried away by both oppression and judgment. And yet no one of his generation stood up in his defence. For Isaiah, this would seem to be the greatest of sins. That we would be unwilling to care for those who need someone to stand in their stead – even if that action carries us into uncomfortable territory. For Isaiah’s Suffering Servant, the result of this oppression and the inaction of his generation, was that he would be separated from life. What made this even worse was that the Suffering Servant was being judged for sins that were not his own. The sins he suffered for belonged to the people who were willing to stand by and let him die.

Oppression is a constant in our world. But the church’s reality is that we need to stand against oppression, no matter where it is that it is found and who it is that we stand against. And we need to be repentant about the people that we oppress, all so that we might be considered part of the movement of the Kingdom of God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 54