Rev. Rachel Lewis Cooley
Project: Sermon
“God’s Work of Reversal”
Vanderbilt Divinity School, Nashville TN
November 20, 2019
Luke 1: 39-56
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
46 And Mary[b] said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Oh God: creator, liberator, sustainer -- We seek today to remember that your presence is all around, and is especially working for those who are poor, kept from dignified housing, and places where their voices would upend status quo.
For those here, our hearts would seek to be open to the radical transformation that can come with you. We cannot fathom the ways you will continue to melt us, mold us, fill us, use us. You have compassion for us, and continue to call us. Your compassion can transform us. Help us as we hope to give something like your compassion to others and to ourselves. Help all your people to transform in it.
In the name of your son, who came to those least and lost,
Amen
Advent is almost here. It’s the time of the year where we anticipate the birth of a baby, the start of a life and ministry that we would seek to follow, an inbreaking of God on earth, among humans. We’re just starting to think about it.
Truth is, though, Mary has been thinking about it for months. About 8 months now, actually. Since wayyyy back in March. Back when she went “with haste,” anticipation, joy, to Elizabeth. These women have been blessed by God. /
Elizabeth is pregnant, though she thought she never would be, and now she is filled with the Holy Spirit, as she and her child sense the inbreaking of the divine on earth as their Lord comes to them. Mary has received an incredible, angelic visitor with awe and fear, and she now has amazing assurance of what she already knew: that God’s promises of justice will be fulfilled.
These women have sought to be faithful, and though they are poor and female, and thus not considered great by their society, they here have an incredibly close view of God’s power and compassion, and of the working of the Holy Spirit.
With the Spirit, and from the sense of urgency and excitement that brought her to Elizabeth, Mary’s heart swells and her Magnificat comes forth. The speech that follows is one of the only speeches by a woman in the book of Luke that is not afterwards “corrected” or amended. Mary knows what’s up, what’s fulfilled with the birth of Jesus, and even the Lukan author has to admit God has given her a special sneak peek.
Mary speaks of what God does for God’s people in past, present, and future: in the scriptural stories Israel knows, in the coming of Jesus, in his future ministry, and beyond, in infinite ways. God reverses hierarchies of people: the hungry are filled, and the lowly uplifted, while the proud are scattered, the powerful are brought down from their thrones, the rich are sent away empty. God is, has, and always shall be in the business of reversal: with younger brothers favored over older, prophets calling the powerful to share resources with the poor, and here, with marginalized women spotlighted because of the redeeming work of God through them. Reversal is God’s promise to “our ancestors, to Abraham” (and Sarah, let’s add to Mary’s words) “and to [their] descendants forever.” Reversal is the cause of Mary’s joy, the cause of what Ben noted is her song of praise, to a powerful God whose work inspires and necessitates praise. Reversal is here the first thing we hear about Jesus, the thing we anticipate and experience with his birth. Reversal is the work of our God. Reversal the necessary focus of our advent joy, our 9 month preparation with Mary, our whole life in faith, and in praise of our God.
This is a message of hope for “people like us,” Joe said. Joe, along with Ben, are our neighbors experiencing homelessness in Nashville. When Joe says the Magnificat represents hope to “people like us,” he refers to those who are kept from affordable housing and jobs, and stigmatized in their “lowliness,” as Mary might say.
While powerful others have more than they need, waste resources, fail to advocate for affordable housing, complain about “safety concerns” and discomfort at seeing people under overpasses, on park benches, on the streets because they have few options for places to go where they will find dignity and justice, the hope and joy of God’s reversals is primarily for the homeless, the poor, the oppressed, the “lowly” in the eyes of the status quo, not for those powerful, wealthy, who do not need the “Savior” Mary says her God is to her and to the “lowly.”
When she says “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” the word “Savior” expresses the desperate need of the poor and oppressed, the cry only someone truly in need exclaims, and the accompanying joy that one has been saved from the most dire of situations. The rejoicing at God’s reversal and the coming of Jesus is for people like Joe, Nick, and Ben, men who are considered “lowly” like Mary, “lowly” like the family and community Jesus was born into. When I asked where Jesus would be today: where God’s past, present, future, and always work of reversal is, Joe said: Jesus is “someone like us,” “Jesus would be with us” – with the homeless and poor. Jesus is in the places and situations of Joe, Nick, Ben, and all those struggling to survive as they’ve been pushed to the “underside,” the “outskirts” of resources and power in society. Jesus’ work as Savior, and God’s movements for reversals happen there, with and for them.
Here is a pause. Take a breath.
If God’s work of salvation is about reversing societal hierarchies and status quo power structures, and if salvation and joy in these reversals are most illuminated in the experiences of those on the “undersides,” on the streets, how are all Christians called to live more faithfully? Where any are actively, intentionally oppressing, the people of God are to call them to account, remove them from power and thrones, struggle with strength and determination to stop intentional oppression there and wherever it takes place. Some situations can be this clear cut, and with God and our work, they are continually being reversed.
Not every situation is as clear cut, though, we peer through a fog to see who is oppressor and oppressed. In churches seeking to be the hands and feet of Jesus, often through charitable offerings of money, divisions of power and privilege are more subtle, less easy to call out. “Charitable” actions seem laudable, and we often assume they are what God calls us to. One may even think there are many shelters and charitable options for people on the streets, and oh what a good thing that is.
But Mary is not rejoicing for charity. The men at the Room in the Inn program that night and all who are oppressed in poverty rejoice in reversal through God and the work of Jesus, not in charity. God rejoices in reversal.
One of the church member volunteers at Room in the Inn that night asked Nick what some of the other shelters in town were like. Nick said that you didn’t want to stay at the Nashville Rescue Mission downtown, where staff and volunteers treat you like they think they’re better than you, and where the showers are only either freezing cold or scorching hot, no in between. Ted, the church volunteer, said “really?!” several times, with genuine surprise. The “charity” offered at the Rescue Mission suddenly didn’t seem so laudable. Perhaps he then questioned the “charity” he and his church were offering that night, with men sleeping in the open in the fellowship hall, near to each other and to noise and light they can’t control. Where there’s a box of random goods labeled “not wanted”-- indicating to the men there that though no one with more access to resources wants these things, perhaps they’re good enough for them.
Ted did sit and share a meal with Nick, however. He learned a bit from him, and discussed what religion does in the world, what God does in the face of things human society that are wrong, and what Mary’s Magnificat might mean today. Ted and I, along with the other church volunteers there that night, and others with relatively more privilege, access, and power than Nick, Joe, and Jim must take steps toward listening to the word and work of God and how it is and is not experienced by those on the underside. But then we, and us here in this room today as future leaders in congregations, must also go further, asking why “charity” is needed, where God is working in the world, how Christians can offer radical hospitality and caring for each other, empowering the voices of those oppressed with dignity, respect, and willingness to learn, how we can all be a part of God’s work of reversal.
This is the faith journey Christians are called to. Sometimes, as Jim noted, we have to have patience that an answer to our questions may come, unexpectedly, or through study and diving deeply into them. Why are some impoverished while others have excess? Dive into the question, listen, and learn. Bring the church into those questions, and into the transformation asking them and discovering can bring. Know you on your own, or your church on its own will not solve it all, but that God is working to reverse, and that we are called to life-long faith journey.
In the November 6th-20th issue of The Contributor, a publication sold by vendors experiencing homelessness in Nashville and spotlighting their voices and issues that impact them, vendor John H. wrote: “here we are in America riding by our Christian brothers and sisters and won’t ever say hello. I’m sorry about what America has taught but if we, as Christians, want to spend eternity with Christ, we have to have the heart of Christ.” God called Moses and Jonah, he says, and though they try to refuse, “God [doesn’t] accept [their]excuses. With God you can’t run or hide. In the future if God speaks to your heart, ‘just do it,’” he concludes.
So what is our Magnificat today? How can we be faithfully part of God’s work of reversal during advent anticipation and beyond? For me, borrowing the prophetic speech of Mary,:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God,
the savior of my neighbor,
for God has looked with favor on the
imperfect faith of God’s people,
Surely, from now on all generations
will continue to be called, will be blessed;
for the Might One has done great
things for those with less social capital than me,
and holy is God’s name.
God’s mercy is for those who fear God
with awe at the work of reversal.
God has shown strength with God’s arm;
has scattered the proud with their
charity and status quo.
God has brought down the powerful
from their capitol buildings and gated communities;
and lifted up the lowly;
God has given the hungry nourishment, dignity, and place for their voice,
and sent the rich away empty, back to what they already have.
God has helped all Christians,
to remember God’s mercy,
according to the promise made to
our ancestors,
to the impoverished, and to all who join in God’s reversal
forever.
Amen
Roundtable Discussion
Luke 1: 39-56
Group Description
My group members included men who volunteered to discuss the scripture with me on Thursday night the 7 at Room in the Inn at Vine Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). They arrived in a van driven by a volunteer a little after 6:30 pm, coming in from cold rain, traffic, and, for many of them, a long day’s work. After getting settled on beds arranged in the open around the fellowship hall, turning the tv to the football game, and/or looking over some of the goods labeled “not wanted” (by anyone else, apparently) that were up for grabs, Lydia from Vine Street told us about dinner and introduced me to pray and explain my open but not obligatory offer to discuss the scripture for my sermon. Some of the men sat at the table where I'd placed my things once we got plates of food, and some wandered by or chimed in from an adjacent table to join pieces of the conversation as the night continued. We occasionally paused to hear instructions and an offer for dessert from Lydia. We read the scripture aloud several times as individuals joined in. All in all, some of us chatted for approximately 1.5 hours. The names below are pseudonyms as I forgot to ask for permission to use their names.
Nick seemed eager to discuss the text and sat down by me at the dinner table first thing. We'd had a brief conversation before, where he’d told me he never thought he’d end up where he is, and that just a year ago, he’d been in a home and had a job. He works in IT—‘I'm the IT guy,” he said—but is struggling to find a job right now. He’s got one possible option coming up, but he said with so many people applying for it at this bigger company, he has no idea if he'll get it.
Jim is a veteran who seems to have spent a good deal of time studying the biblical text and the history of Christianity. Ile has a prosthetic leg, and uses a cane when he walks. He took a few laps around the area after our conversation as a way to stretch and converse with others. He referred several times to some of his military missions, experiences, and companions.
Ben came in and out of the conversation as he wandered to follow the football game on TV as well. He focused on the movement of the [Joly Spirit and hopefulness of the passage.
Joe joined in later in our conversation, and commented on the hopefulness and the incarnation.
Barry wandered in for a period in the middle of the conversation, commenting on the Spirit in the passage and how we need to follow God’s word throughout the bible.
Ted, a member of Vine Street and volunteer present to help set up and for the meal, discussed the role of religion and what to make of the present state of the world—which he believes to be more problematic than he’s ever seen. He was curious why I’d chosen this scripture, particularly in relation to what he saw in the world. He also asked Nick about what some of the other shelters in town are like, and was surprised when Nick said at one downtown, much of the staff and/or volunteers talk down to the men present for help, acting as though they are stupid and beneath them. He also described the poor condition of the showers (someone from the table next to us chimed in to say that you just don’t want to take a shower there), where the water is always either freezing cold or blistering hot.
Verbatim
A song of hope + the power of God and the Holy Spirit mentioned by Nick, Ben, Barry, Joe, Ted.
Nick focused on the hopefulness of Mary’s Magnificat immediately. Ben and Barry talked about how this was a song of praise of God’s promises and faithfulness, saying that praise was the only right response and mentioning the Holy Spirit’s role in bringing forth Mary’s words.
Joe said the passage was hopeful especially for people “like us” (referring to himself and the men experiencing homelessness).
Ben focused on the hope being for the spiritual world rather than the material one, when I asked what we were to make of the continuing existence of poverty and disparities of power and resources.
The incarnation
When I asked where we might find Jesus being born today, Joe remarked, with a touch of awe, that Jesus was born to “someone like us,” and would be with them today.
Jim discussed the Roman soldier who became a follower of Jesus because he experienced his divinity at the crucifixion. He also mentioned several times that Jesus was born to a “lowly” carpenter, not so different than a carpenter today.
Faithful following
Jim talked about times he’s wondered about a question of faith and an answer has arrived either unexpectedly or through research and study. He said that sometimes you have to have patience if you don’t have an answer yet: it may come.
Barry commented on the importance of following God’s word as described in the bible, and gestured at the question of what to do in response to people we see not following it.
Giving generously
Jim told us about a family he’s connected with in Asia, whom he plans to visit. He bought cell phones for the children in the family for their birthdays.
The heart of religion/religions
Nick and Ted discussed how all religions could potentially get behind the message of justice that Mary’s Magnificat portrays.
On the Way to the Sermon (I have many questions...)
How can Christians be truly in solidarity with people who are without housing and be in respectful conversation with them?
Considering that Christmas is coming up, and cold days and nights are ahead and will impact people without shelter especially. What does it mean to do Christmas faithfully? To experience joy as a person who is poor and oppressed, and as a person who has more societal privilege and access to resources. [low might this scripture be heard by the different groups?
In a charity environment where the church offers items that are “not wanted” and are yet also surprised at some of the degrading treatment the men experience at other shelters, what are the volunteers to do?
What are we at VDS, my “congregation” for this sermon, to do? And how are we to lead in the churches we serve? What can the congregations and communities we’re in do, and do better?
What do we make of the reality that though Mary says the promises of God have been fulfilled, there are individuals living on the streets and impoverished, while some have far more than they need? Are the reversals Mary says happen in God more about a spiritual reality than a material or earthly one? Are they a reminder of the continual faithfulness of God despite hardship? Are they a call to do justice? Are they a promise of future things to come?