I went to a Christmas eve service tonight at an Evangelical Protestant church which shall remain unnamed (because I *really* like lots of people in this church, and I don’t want them to feel bad, and my comments are more about Christianity in general).
They sang lots of traditional Christmas songs, had a traditional Christmas play in which they read from the accounts in Luke and Matthew, and there were a couple playing Mary and Joseph, and a little baby playing Jesus, and children playing sheep and shepherds and angels and wizards from the east and … well, you know. If you live in America, you’ve no doubt seen this whole thing at least a couple times in your life.
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12-25-2007 |
16 Comments »On Benjamin’s The Dark Side of Christmas thread, Helen posted this comment:
I’ve read two books lately (The Real Mary by Scot McKnight and Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren) in which the authors point out what a strong justice theme is in ‘the Magnificat’ i.e. Mary’s song of rejoicing she sang about being the mother of Jesus…I love that right in the middle of the Christmas passages there’s a poem about addressing global injustice.
I love that too, Helen. I imagine that if Mary were speaking today, she would be accused of being a Marxist and promoting “class warfare”!
“He has taken princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands” (Luke 1:52-53).
And it seems she passed this revolutionary spirit on to her son.
“God blesses those who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is given to you. God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied…What sorrows await you who are rich, for you have only your happiness now. What sorrows await you who are satisfied and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger is before you” (Luke 6:20-21, 24-25)
Those passages cause me to feel pretty uncomfortable, considering my placement on the Global Rich List. I believe in a God of mercy and grace, a God who loves everyone equally, including the rich and powerful. And yet I can’t simply ignore this troubling message.
What do these passages mean for those of us who are privileged and prosperous? How should we respond to this prophetic message?
12-10-2007 |
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