What is the “norm”?

Photo credit here

S (Scripture): Luke 1 [Mary proclaims]:

49b

“Holy is his name.

50 

    He shows mercy to everyone,

        from one generation to the next,

        who honors him as God.

51 

He has shown strength with his arm.

    He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.

52 

    He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones

        and lifted up the lowly.

53 

He has filled the hungry with good things

    and sent the rich away empty-handed.

54 

He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,

        remembering his mercy,

55 

    just as he promised to our ancestors,

        to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”

O (Observation): Mary proclaims what God has already accomplished, but in a way that points to the fact that God will continue to act in this way – to bring down the haughty, and to lift the lowly.

Mary says these things, even as she is living into her own understanding of what God has done / is doing / will do. She speaks like God has already won a great victory, and continues to win – even despite our failings to create a distance between strong and weak, rich and poor.

A (Application): God has a tendency to reverse what we have done. We lift up class, race, socio-economic status as indicators of the victors and losers.

White. Male. Heterosexual. Many consider this the norm. Someone in these categories doesn’t think of race, gender or sexual orientation as categories. Rather, these are considered the norm. When NOT in these categories, we consider anything else a deviation from the norm.

That offends people in “my category,” for that is a part of who I am: white, male, heterosexual. This country was founded mostly by folks in this category. Also, those who founded this country came from areas where domination and submission of the “other” was considered a show of strength and success. No wonder we continued down this road as a nation, beginning with the domination and submission of American Indians, as well as building much of this country on the backs of black and brown enslaved people.

What does God consider good or right? I’m not sure. But we do know how God acts: brings down the haughty, raises up the lowly.

These are the words of hope for me today. I am the haughty, the proud, the powerful. I am becoming one who is being lowered, that I might know better how to walk alongside my siblings of color. My status is becoming less a concern, so that I can walk hand in hand with others this society still considers less.

God afflicts the comfortable, and comforts the afflicted. Thank you, God, for this.

P (Prayer): Gracious God, remind me and all who struggle with power and control: we are all made precious in your sight. Amen.

Living in Abundance: Hope for Refugees

Photo credit here

S (Scripture): Genesis 41:12b “We described our dreams to [Joseph], and he interpreted our dreams for us, giving us an interpretation for each dream. 13 His interpretations came true exactly: Pharaoh restored me to my position but hanged [the baker].”

14 So Pharaoh summoned Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon. He shaved, changed clothes, and appeared before Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, but no one could interpret it. Then I heard that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.”

16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It’s not me. God will give Pharaoh a favorable response.”

O (Observation): From whence has Joseph’s interpretive gifts come? From God!

Joseph has been through trauma after trauma, but God’s promise to God’s people is kept alive through God’s faithfulness to Joseph.

Even after Joseph has been wrongfully imprisoned for two years, God is still working through Joseph, still interpreting dreams for Joseph.

And Joseph still believes God is with him. So, Joseph keeps on keeping on.

A (Application): The daily challenges I face seem like nothing compared to having one’s freedom taken away. Joseph is an example, but we also have plenty of modern-day examples of freedom being taken away.

Refugees seeking asylum is one example. They wish to flee their countries for a better chance at life. Yet, we – as Americans – are denied the chance to walk alongside many refugees these days, since our country’s leaders think the better choice is to close off the borders…acting as if the best in this world are already inside its borders, and we don’t need “you” here thank you very much.

The truth is that many are scared. We are scared because we see a limited way forward. If more people are here, taking our much needed resources, then what are “we” left with?

We imagine a future of scarcity. Joseph could have lived that way, too. Afraid. Scared. Yet Joseph had faith that God would lead him and the people of God into a blessed future. He didn’t know what it would look like sitting behind those prison bars, but he believed that God’s promise was bigger and stronger than anything he could have imagined.

And you know what? Joseph was right… because God is faithful.

P (Prayer): Jesus, you walk with us, always. Remind us daily of your grace and your presence. Amen.

God…Are You There?

Photo credit here

S (Scripture): Psalm 106

3 

The people who uphold justice,

who always do what is right, are truly happy!

4 

Remember me, Lord, with the favor you show your people.

Visit me with your saving help

5 

so I can experience the good things your chosen ones experience,

so I can rejoice in the joy of your nation,

so I can praise along with your possession.

O (Observation): This author wants to praise God just like everyone else. What’s stopping him? Why is she worried about being able to praise God?

Maybe this is it:

I want joy and I want God to show up! You’re there / here…right, God?

A (Application): Isolation…Worry…Fear. These things are real. We all experience them in some way. Some experience this in a very real and traumatic way. Some folks can just handle it and go on. This doesn’t make one of these groups better than the other…just different.

Let us be watchful and walk alongside the hurting ones.

P (Prayer): Lord, remind us that you are indeed with us every step of the way. Amen.

Taking a Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes

  S (Scripture): Philemon 1:15 For perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated from you for a little while, so that you would have him back eternally, 16 no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, as a dear brother. He is especially so to me, and even more so to you now, both humanly speaking and in the Lord. 17 Therefore if you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me. 18 Now if he has defrauded you of anything or owes you anything, charge what he owes to me.

O (Observation):  In the Greco-Roman world, people would become indebted to one another for various reasons.  A poor person would borrow money, or need food or shelter, and would literally become that rich person’s slave/property.  This was how one paid off a debt: servitude. 

These slavery situations ranged from fair to extremely harsh.  Paul is appealing to Philemon (slave owner) to take back Onesimus (slave).  Onesimus and Philemon have both received God’s Word from Paul, and Paul leans on their relationship in Christ for fair treatment and sustenance going forward.  

If Onesimus is to be enslaved, may he do so to God’s glory.  If Philemon is to continue owning these slave, may he treat them all as if they were his own brothers and sisters.  (Note: this doesn’t mean that Paul encourages slavery. Instead of overturning the social structure, he chooses to go to the heart of the matter: how do we treat fellow members of the body of Christ, and all people, for that matter?  Addressing that main issue would then, organically, shift the culture.) 

A (Application):  As a leader in the Church, I sometimes feel like Paul:  sending servants out into the world, trusting that God would guide these servants and that those who receive these servants would treat them with respect.  I know that won’t always happen. 

I sometimes feel like Onesimus, as God calls me to remain humble and step back into a potentially difficult situation, in which I’m at the mercy of others. 

And thirdly, I sometimes feel like Philemon, entrusted with servants who I’m call to treat as my brothers and sisters.  

All of these viewpoints are a call to lean on our Identity as God’s children, saved by grace.   

Only with God’s grace would I send a servant out.

Only with God’s grace could I receive a servant as a brother or sister in Christ.

Only with God’s grace could I receive a calling and trust in God’s protection as I go.

In whose shoes are you walking today?  The Sender? The Recipient? The Sent?

P (Prayer):  Lord: as we send, receive, or are sent, remind us of the baptismal waters in which you bathe us, bringing us to a place of great humility and responsibility.  Amen.