Blessed are those who read the whole Bible

I laughed out loud when I read this week’s question. Since I’ve preached and written about “Blessed are those who read the whole Bible,” it seemed something of a quandary to identify one passage or verse. I can’t.

The reality is there are many. The thousands of Bible passages about peace and poverty have shaped me in my work to stop war before it begins or seek a living wage for Americans.

Isaiah 6:8, “...Here am I; send me!” resonates with me. Whether it was Baghdad, Tehran, the halls of Congress or Havana, I have felt sent to many places on behalf of the builders of God’s beloved community.

Another prophet speaks to my heart. Micah (6:8) urges us to “...do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God...”

Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (5:1-11) with his list of the Beatitudes and his vision of the kingdom of God (25:34-46) and identifying with “the least of these,” have strongly motivated me.

Matthew, Mark and Luke all have a version of the Great Commandment, to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. This tells me how important Jesus thought love was to his entire mission on earth.

In my own experience as a young Christian, hearing in person the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., transformed my life. Years later his 1967 book, “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?,” continues to speak to me. I think of these words when I hear the drip, drip, drip of melting ice caps, or see a child in Africa die of starvation when Americans throw away food, or when I see troops mobilized before non-violent options are given a chance.

“We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity. The ‘tide in the affairs of men’ does not remain at the flood; it ebbs...Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: ‘Too late.’...We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos and community.”

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