The Great Reversal

Sheesh! Do I have writer’s block or what?! Maybe ‘cuz it’s the Last Sunday of Advent, e.g., the week just before Christmas. But the cards are (almost) finished and mailed, and my CharlieBrown tree lurks in the garage waiting to be dragged out and trimmed yet again… Nostalgia is in the air, and everyone dreams of a white Christmas complete with horsedrawn vehicles and wide-eyed children…(and outside plumbing?) So the readings which approach us on the weekend could be discarded as fantasy; but as for me and Grandpa, we believe!

Words attributed to the prophet MICAH (5:2-5a) look forward to a Messiah just like David, who can reclaim the land devoured by the Assyrians yet rule with the compassion of a shepherd. He yearns–don’t we all?–for the little guy (Bethlehem) to prevail over the giant who threatens with more power than we can comprehend. From a tiny and obscure village shall come the ruler who will conquer the world and who will provide for his people where there now has been wreckage. God continues salvation through an amazing reversal of power.

The Letter to the HEBREWS is difficult to understand for us who have but limited knowledge of Jewish tradition and theology. Verses 10:5-10 are no exception. The author reminds us that we humans can’t fix our battered lives, only Christ can. The birth and ensuing mission of Jesus was to reclaim the huddled masses yearning to breathe free from the superpowers both then and now. Psychologists tell us that much of our captivation is from inside, reflecting our embarrassments and anxieties. “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

LUKE 1:39-55 tells of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptizer. Overwhelmed by the majesty of the moment, Mary brought us The Magnificat (compare with I Samuel 1:1-10, the Song of Hannah)– which makes a delightful responsive reading–again emoting about the Great Reversal. “[God] has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; [God] has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty…” Commonfolk through the ages have celebrated this providence and can smile at the Christmas message! “Two marginalized and pregnant women carry the future and proclaim the Messiah.” (Charles L. Campbell, FEASTING on the WORD, C 1:95) Advent is our opportunity to sing loudly about our hopeful expectations of the Great Reversal, God turning the world upside down!

The Grinch lives on. I have seen him snatch food from the tables of the developing world, and justice from the non-whites downtown. I’ve groaned when we’ve bombed Yemen, and when street-people give up on governmental forms which would make a law-firm cry. The Grinch reminds the poor and the poor-in-spirit that they’re nothing if they can’t afford the stuff they see on TV… BUT these Old Words that we may hear this weekend renew our self-worth, and make us appreciate those occasions–more than we know– when God does the Great Reversal.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Come celebrate the accounts of God’s workmanship in the readings given for the upcoming weekend with me every Tuesday at horacebrownking.com.