God's Week Has 7 Days
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| · | A Parable Of Rude Awakening (Dec 26) |
| · | Do You Hear What I Hear? (Dec 19) |
| · | Oom-Pah-Pah (Dec 12) |
| · | What's The Real Cost? (Dec 05) |
| · | What If . . . ? (Nov 28) |
| · | Explosive Profit (Nov 21) |
| · | Blueprint From Above (Nov 14) |
| · | A Hand Of Welcome (Nov 07) |
| · | (Oct 31) |
| · | The CEO As Pastor (Oct 24) |
| · | A Hiding Place Of Gray (Oct 17) |
| · | The Monday Connection (Oct 10) |
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More God's Week Articles... Preface / Forward About the Author |
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Dec 19
Christmas is sometimes called the season of good news. But is it good news for everyone?
What exactly was the news at the first Christmas? We get an inkling of it in Mary's song (Luke 1:46-55, NRSV). Mary has been pondering her strange pregnancy. Here she is, a woman of low estate, a nobody, and God has exalted her for this important role. Mary, in deep contemplation, composes this song:
My soul magnifies the Lord. . . .
He has looked with favor on the lowliness
of his servant. . . .
He has scattered the proud. . . .
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
Here, within the womb of this woman of low estate, is the concrete realization of God's purpose.
God is going to overthrow the proud, the mighty, and the powerful. He's going to send the rich away empty-handed. The rules of the world are being thrown out. What's happening here is not just the birth of a baby, but a complete reversal of human values.
And this is supposed to be good news?
Like most news, it all depends on your perspective. For the rich and powerful, Mary's song presents a worrisome prospect. For the poor and oppressed, it's terrific news.
Some people would like to spiritualize Mary's words because they seem so incredible. And yet, maybe they mean exactly what they say.
Imagine being poor in Palestine and hearing Mary's song. This is what you might hear:
The kingdom of God is the kind of place where those who are rich will share. The kingdom of God is the kind of place where those who have power will step off their thrones and no longer oppress. The kingdom of God is the kind of place where people who have influence will take the risk of intervening on your behalf.
In other words, the kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom.
If you are one of the oppressors, this is not good news. For those whose self-esteem is found in thrones, Christmas is not really a time to sing Joy to the World. For those whose joy is found in wealth, the incarnation is not an event to gladden the heart. The temptation of our world is to be sucked into empty power and empty thrones, to want to become precisely the kind of people Mary says will be brought down.
How would things look in our workplaces if we modeled the upside-down kingdom? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a manager's performance evaluated by those lower on the ladder rather than by those above? What if we gave equal respect to a competent janitor as to a vice-president? What if there were no feelings of discrimination based on gender, age, or race? What if the gap between the lower-paid workers and the CEO began to narrow rather than continually widen?
Now that would be an upside-down workplace.
Christmas brings good news for some, and bad news for others.
It's our choice as to which it will be for us.
God's Week | Preface | Forward | About the Author
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