Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
When you were a small child, do you ever have the experience of someone picking you up, turning you upside-down, and holding you there by the legs as your pockets emptied? I have a few memories like this, as both the one over-turned, and later as the one doing the flipping. It was a favorite way for older cousins to bond with younger ones while we were playing outside at family events. Sometimes there was a lot of tickling and snorting and laughter involved. It’s a moment when power wasn’t misused, but instead was a source of joy.
There is something joy-inducing about being powerfully flipped upside-down. Hannah’s Song in the psalm and Mary’s Magnificat in the gospel are echoed in my memories of family reunions. We have a God who does the same. The crippled will be lifted up. The immigrants will have a home. The lonely will have abundant friendships. And, the comfortable will be in pain. The rich will be empty-handed. The people who trusted in their own strength will be reduced to a crawl.
As Shane Claibourne said, during this time of year we wonder, “If the last shall be first, why are we trying so hard to get ahead?” The Lord is coming, and it’s going to change everything. You, me, the Church, our whole world. Everything. It’s going to be great. Let’s take a moment now, in the midst of all the holiday busy-ness, to rest in that happy truth, to wait joyfully for Christ to flip us upside-down.
- Chris Neiport