June 12, 2013 | Justice For the Needy

Notes from friends

A number of friends sent insightful notes regarding this passage that I recently taught. In my message I focused primarily verses 13-15 and the lack of alignment in both Isaiah’s time and ours. We live like Hell, ignoring all that God tells us to heed, and then expect ritual to smooth everything over. Those who wrote me didn’t disagree, but they emphasized varying aspects of the practical call to good and justice in verses 16-17.

One person, thinking this through, sent a fascinating note from a review of what appears to be a deeply flawed book. He said that defending justice for the needy in the faith community includes – in fact is built upon – the willingness to stand up and fight bad attitudes that threaten Christian freedom and health. He shared an example in the following quote from Dr. Kenneth Minogue’s review of Anthony Pagden’s new book, The Enlightenment:

We are today, it appears, entering a new era of secular triumphalism. … Mr. Pagden thinks that it is the enlightened who have taught us to behave altruistically toward distant people we have never met. He admits thatcaritas is a Christian virtue but then solemnly explains to us that Christians merely practiced it so as to increase their credit with God. On the very same page we learn of Diderot’s complaint that theatergoing Parisians wept over the fate of Phaedra but, as Mr. Pagden puts it, “never gave a single thought to the plight of African slaves.” Mr. Pagden fails to note that William Wilberforce and his Christian supporters got the slave trade eliminated.

Whether it is the truth about reality or not, Christianity has been central to creating a gentle and decent (and philosophically lively) civilization of such power that our problem is accommodating the people who want to join it. “Go thou and sin no more” is way ahead of beheading or stoning sinners and probably ahead of counseling or psychotropic medication as well. – Kenneth Minogue, professor emeritus at the London School of Economics [A version of this article appeared June 8, 2013, on page C6 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: When the Lamps Went On]

On the upside, one person wrote: “Verse 17’s exhortation to help the fatherless and widows is echoed by James at the end of James 1.” This is true, and indicates that even after Jews became Christians, God expected this kind of community engagement. It also ensures that Gentile Christians embrace the same.

Another person added: “‘Plead the widow’s cause’ goes beyond help in the sense of charity. It implies actively advocating for justice on their behalf in the cycles of an unjust system.” Amen! This is especially important when one realizes that both Isaiah and James are talking about people one knows within one’s community of faith. Not that one shouldn’t care for the needy outside the church family! However, these passages are specifically contextualized around the Hebrew and Christian faith communities. [This likely influenced the Apostle Paul’s later call to do good “especially to those who are of the household of faith.”]

Series Notes

If you would like a copy of the introductory material for our current summer series on Isaiah being preached at Frisco Bible Church, click HERE.