Recently, many of us were outraged when the story broke of a disabled eighteen-year-old boy in Chicago being beaten and tortured by three teenagers and a twenty-four-year-old man. The beating was streamed live on Facebook and quickly went viral. Thankfully, the traumatized victim was returned to his family after being found walking the streets by a Chicago police officer. The four perpetrators are being held in jail without bond while they await trial. In the days following the beating, millions of people showed their support by voicing their concerns and well wishes on social media and donating to a GoFundMe page that raised over $140,000 for the victim and his family.
The video is painful to watch. Seeing four people torture a disabled young man incites justified anger. But what if there had been no video? Would the victim and his family have received the support they need had America not saw the crime? What if we had only read about it in the newspaper? Would the story have had the same impact?
Stories like this force us to contemplate what it means for Christ followers to advocate for the oppressed. If you are a Christ-follower, you have been summoned to care for the poor and marginalized. It’s part of the family business. Many people who endure profound suffering never receive media coverage. Instead, they suffer in silence. The Bible has a lot to say about how Jesus treated the poor, oppressed, and marginalized.
The Gospel of Matthew makes it clear that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Chosen Servant prophesied in Isaiah 42:1-9.
“This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
My beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim
justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
Nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets,
a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering
wick he will not quench,
until be brings justice and victory;
and in his name the Gentiles will hope. (Matt 12:17-21, emphasis mine).
I read this passage shortly after I watched the video of the incident in Chicago and it pierced my heart. Notice the phrase in verse 20, “a bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench.” Reeds originated from the stems of a variety of plants and were used for a number of things. Sometimes they were carved into ink pens or walking sticks, and they were also used by shepherds to make small musical instruments. But once a reed cracked, people considered them useless and therefore disposable. Not Jesus. The text says, “a bruised reed he will not break.” In this passage, “a bruised reed” represents people who are deemed useless by the world. In the same way, “a smoldering wick” is considered useless because it produces all smoke and no light.
In our society “bruised reeds” and “smoldering wicks” might include those who are developmentally disabled, homeless, trafficking victims, foster children, orphans, refugees, teens living in high-risk neighborhoods, the poor, addicted, elderly, or mentally ill. Jesus did not dispose of “bruised reeds” and “smoldering wicks.” He embraced and restored them. We are called to do the same. There’s no need for you to wonder if you are called to care for the oppressed, because if you are a Christian, you have marching orders.
Proverbs 31:8-9 says, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Among the oppressed people groups, which are you most drawn to?
There are countless ways to serve. You can give your time, prayers, money, leadership, voice, and preferably, all the above. Let’s keep in mind that apart from Christ, we are all “bruised reeds and smoldering wicks.”
I’ll leave you with the words of Jesus found in Matthew 25:40, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
