Downward Mobility

Monday 12/15/2014 4:34 AM

Today I read the song Mary sang after she encountered Elizabeth, whose baby leapt in her womb upon meeting Mary. After praising God for the great things he had done for her, she sings, “His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” Rueben P. Job, one of the authors of my devotional book comments on these verses. He writes, “God’s promise seems no less preposterous today. Turn the values of this world upside down? Rich become weak; poor become strong? Each of us chosen to be God’s special witness to God’s promise of love and justice? It does seem like a preposterous promise, until we listen carefully to the Advent story, observe the life of Jesus, and listen to the Spirit’s voice today. But then we see that the promise is for us. The responsibility to tell the story is ours. And yes, the blessing and honor come to all whose lives point to Jesus Christ and God’s revolutionary purpose in the world.”

There are not many today in the church in North America who preach this kind of revolutionary message. We mouth the words about caring for the poor and seeking justice for the oppressed but when it comes to living it out, we fail miserably. We see the blessing of God as living in a free society where we can worship comfortably without fear of reprisal and being able to pursue our dreams of living a comfortable life with adequate finances for retirement. As a church we do little to promote love and justice for those who are oppressed in our society. We lobby for secure borders to our country to keep out the alien rather than seeking justice for those who have been allowed to live within our borders because their cheap labor allows us to maintain our lifestyle. We strive for upward mobility, a prized ideal in our culture. God’s people are to strive for downward mobility, standing with those who are oppressed by our governmental systems, which marginalize the weak and protect the interests of the powerful.

The question for me today is, how best is that to be done? Do I become an activist, joining protests and marches in the streets that demand rights for the oppressed? Do I lobby my representative in Congress to enact laws to address the issues of justice for the weak? Do I work within the church, striving for a change in the attitudes and the actions of God’s people? Perhaps it’s a little bit of all of that. It all seems too overwhelming and the immensity of the task tends to paralyze me. I need to have the courage to take a step.