{"id":4579,"date":"2020-12-13T13:29:54","date_gmt":"2020-12-13T13:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2020\/12\/13\/magnificent-magnificat-based-on-isaiah-611-4\/"},"modified":"2020-12-13T13:29:54","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T13:29:54","slug":"magnificent-magnificat-based-on-isaiah-611-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2020\/12\/13\/magnificent-magnificat-based-on-isaiah-611-4\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMagnificent Magnificat\u201d based on\tIsaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 and Luke 1:46b-55"},"content":{"rendered":"

Years
\nago, I read the book, \u201cDebt: The First 5,000 Years\u201d by David
\nGraeber which probably sounds incredibly boring and yet was one of
\nthe most mind-boggling books I’ve ever read. \u00a0It took me a year to
\nread it because the ideas contained in it required me to readjust my
\nthinking on many things I thought I knew (including money, the
\nmilitary, violence, poverty, government, theology, and religion)1<\/sup><\/a>.
\n In the final chapter, when I thought my assumptions were safe,
\nGraeber quotes Martin Luther King’s \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech;<\/p>\n

\n

\nIn
\na sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the
\narchitects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the
\nConstitution and the Declaration
\nof Independence<\/a>,
\nthey were signing a promissory note to which every American was to
\nfall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as
\nwell as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights”
\nof “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is
\nobvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note,
\ninsofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring
\nthis sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad
\ncheck, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n<\/p>\n

Graeber
\nbuilds on this, speaking particularly of the West after WW II:<\/p>\n

\n

\nTo
\nput it crudely: the white working class of the North Atlantic
\ncountries, from the United States to West Germany, were offered a
\ndeal. \u00a0If they agreed to set aside any fantasies of fundamentally
\nchanging the nature of the system, then they would be allowed to keep
\ntheir unions, enjoy a wide variety of social benefits (pensions,
\nvacations, health care…), expanding public education institutions,
\nknowing that their children had a reasonable chance of leaving the
\nworking class entirely. \u00a0One key element in all this was a tacit
\nguarantee that increases in workers’ production would be met by
\nincreases in wages: a guarantee that held good until the late 1970s.3<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

I’d
\nmarked that whole section with an exclamation point, as it had never
\noccurred to me. \u00a0Then I turned the page. \u00a0Graeber continues, speaking
\nof this \u00a0deal, \u201c\u2026 it was offered only to a relatively small slice
\nof the world’s population. \u00a0As time went on, more and more people
\nwanted in on the deal.\u201d That is, minority groups, nations not in
\nthe North Atlantic, women, etc. \u00a0He says, \u201cAt some point in the
\n‘70s things reached a breaking point. \u00a0It would appear that
\ncapitalism, as a system, simply cannot extend such a deal to
\neveryone. \u00a0\u2026 The result might be termed a crisis of inclusion.\u201d4<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This
\nparticular point has stayed with me so strongly that I knew which
\nside of the page the to scan in the final chapter to find it! \u00a0And, I
\nthought of it again this week, when I read an opinion article in the
\nNew York Times entitled, \u201cThe Resentment Never Sleeps\u201d \u00a0by Thomas
\nB. Edsall, which
\nwasn’t at all about what I expected. \u00a0It was about social status, who
\nhas it, who seeks it, who is losing it, and how that impacts
\npolitics.5<\/sup><\/a>
\n This struck me as particularly meaningful for two reasons, in
\naddition to how well it fits with MLK and Graeber’s explanation of a
\n\u201cdeal.\u201d \u00a0First, because one of the most useful commentaries on
\nthe Gospels I have (Social Science Commentary on the Synpotic
\nGospels) is always talking about how the world order in Jesus’ day
\nwas defined by the gain and loss of honor and shame, which were a
\nzero-sum game. \u00a0Secondly, because the Bible, the Jesus movement, and
\nthe Magnificat itself are ABOUT upending assumptions about social
\nstatus. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I
\nrequest your patience as I outline the primary points of the article,
\nbecause I think it will help us understand the meaning of Magnificat
\nfor us today. \u00a0Edsall starts by saying, \u201cMore and more, politics
\ndetermine which groups are favored and which are denigrated,\u201d then
\nsuggests that the major political parties are working at odds with
\neach other, one to enhance the status of historically marginalized
\ngroups, the other to enhance the status of the white, Christian
\nworking and middle class. \u00a0(I’ll go ahead and leave it to the reader
\nto determine which is which.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Edsall
\nthen quotes two government professors who said, \u201csocial status is
\none of the most important motivators of human behavior.\u201d6<\/sup><\/a>
\n Now, I’m not sure why this is a major breakthrough in theoretical
\nthought, but apparently it is. \u00a0It feels clear, both because social
\nstatus is valuable in and of itself and
\nbecause social status impacts every part of life, including access to
\nthe things that promote life and access to resources. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Anyway,
\nthe point is that people fight for social status. \u00a0Which is to say,
\npeople fight for a place on the HIERARCHY, for ranking. \u00a0And how the
\nhierarchy is build impacts where people land on it, so it is a fight
\nmany people are willing to engage in, with a lot of passion, whether
\nor not they’re conscious of what they’re fighting for.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Into
\nthis reality, we people of faith hear the words of the prophet
\nIsaiah,\n<\/p>\n

\n

\nThe
\nspirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me;
\n[God] has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the
\nbrokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to
\nthe prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day
\nof vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for
\nthose who mourn in Zion– to give them a garland instead of ashes,
\nthe oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead
\nof a faint spirit. \u00a0(Isaiah 61:1-3a)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n<\/p>\n

If
\nthe oppressed,the broken (hearted), the captives, the prisoners, and
\nthe mourners are getting good news, then those at the bottom are
\nbeing picked up. \u00a0That is, the Spirit of God is at work to pick up
\nthe people at the bottom of hierarchy, one might even say, to
\neliminate the bottom!! \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From
\nthe prophetic calls for justice, to the Torah’s dream of a just
\nsociety; from the aching of the Psalmists to be dealt with fairly, to
\nthe responses of Jesus to the oppressed; the Bible shows us that God
\nis NOT in support of hierarchies. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That’s
\nhow radical this faith thing is. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

God
\nand faith aren’t about MODIFYING hierarchies, or fixing who is where
\non them. \u00a0God and faith are about ELIMINATING hierarchies, and
\nreiterating time and time again that EVERY SINGLE PERSON is a beloved
\nchild of God, of inherent worth simply because they exist. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As
\na Christian who has spent a lot of time with the Gospels, I am most
\nclearly able to see this in the life and ministry of Jesus, and I
\nthink Luke does a singularly amazing job of foreshadowing the
\nentirety of Jesus with the words coming out of Mary’s mouth in the
\nMagnificat.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Mary
\nherself is lowly by social standing. \u00a0She is female, she is young,
\nand she is poor. \u00a0Her words start by acknowledging this, and naming
\nthat God is the one who calls HER anyway, God is the one who favors
\nHER, and thereby ignores the normal world order. She then extends
\nthis single act of lifting her up out of the hierarchy to a reminder
\nof who God is and how God is in the world. \u00a0She says God scatters the
\nproud, brings down the powerful, and lifts up the lowly.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That
\nis, God flattens hierarchies. \u00a0God eliminates social standing. \u00a0God
\nfills up the hungry, but gives no more to those who have enough.
\nGod… equalizes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Because,
\neach and every person is a beloved child of God.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That
\nis, social standing is a thing of the WORLD, but not a thing of God.
\nHierarchies do not serve God’s purpose in the world, they are the
\nantithesis of the kindom God is building (hopefully with our help).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So
\nwhat do we do with that? \u00a0The obvious piece is that we work for
\npolicies that benefit everyone, and not just the few. \u00a0The challenge
\npiece is that we may end up needing to work for a restructuring of
\nour whole society as well as our church, because the hierarchies are
\nso deeply entrenched. \u00a0But the immediate piece is to think about
\nhierarchies of power in society, and where we fit on each: \u00a0age,
\nwealth, race, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexuality, education,
\nlanguage, health, and immigration status might be places to start.
\nIn which parts of our life are we seen as more value-able than
\naverage, and in which less? \u00a0And how does it feel to have God shake
\nthat up and reject it? \u00a0It may be that in places we are higher in the
\nhierarchy, we’re less comfortable with the hierarchy being rejected \u2013
\nthat seems pretty normal. \u00a0It may be in that places we are lower in
\nthe hierarchy, we’re relieved at the hierarchy being rejected \u2013
\nthat seems pretty normal too.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In
\nthe moments when I have attempted to connect with God and understand
\nhow God sees me, I have been flooded with compassion and grace. \u00a0The
\nways I judge myself and find myself lacking are not shared by God.
\nThe inverse is true too, but that hasn’t felt nearly as emotionally
\nrelevant.<\/p>\n

That’s
\nthe weird thing. \u00a0Because we live in a society run by hierarchies,
\njust like Jesus did, we’re socialized to judge ourselves and others
\nALL THE TIME and to FIGHT to be worthy. \u00a0But that’s not how it is
\nwith God. \u00a0We ARE worthy because we are God’s, and the worth is
\ninherent, and doesn’t require us to do anything to earn it or keep
\nit. \u00a0That also means we don’t have to worry about judgement, because
\nour worth CANNOT go away when it comes from God. \u00a0(Instead, Biblical
\n\u201cjudgement\u201d is about creating justice, which is about caring for
\nall of God’s people no matter where they are on the world’s
\nhierarchies.) \u00a0Furthermore, God’s \u201ceconomy\u201d is one of ABUNDANCE
\nnot scarcity, so we don’t have to fight for basic resources if we do
\nthings God’s way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mary’s
\nsong, like Isaiah’s prophecy, is good news for everyone. \u00a0Hierarchies
\nare like hamster wheels that keep us fighting with each other to
\nprove our worth, in hopes we’ll have enough. \u00a0The earth is abundant,
\nlike God’s love. \u00a0There is enough.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When
\nwe participate in the Jesus movement, when we work toward the kindom,
\nwe are building the world that God envisions, without hierarchy and
\nwith PLENTY for all.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Your
\njob, for now, is to savor God’s inherent love for you, and allow that
\nlove to help you shake off the world’s judgements of your worth.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As
\nwe do that, we enable the kindom building that God requests of us
\nall. \u00a0May God help us. \u00a0Amen <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1<\/a>For
\n\tsome reason, \u201cThis book is so heavy it took me a year to read\u201d
\n\thas never been a great selling point to get others to read it.
\n\tWhich I regret, because it drew back the curtain on so many of my
\n\tunexamined assumptions, and I think I’m a better person for it.<\/p>\n

2<\/a>Because
\n\tI was too lazy to type this from the book, I grabbed it from:
\n\thttps:\/\/www.americanrhetoric.com\/speeches\/mlkihaveadream.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/a>David
\n\tGraeber, Debt: The First 5000 Years<\/i>
\n\t(Brooklyn and London: Melville House, 2011), p. 373<\/p>\n

4<\/a>Graeber,
\n\t374-5.<\/p>\n

<\/a>5<\/a>Thomas
\n\tB. Endsall, \u201cThe Resentment That Never Sleeps\u201d published in the
\n\tNew York Times \u00a0Dec. 9, 2020. \u00a0Found at
\n\thttps:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/12\/09\/opinion\/trump-social-status-resentment.html<\/a>
\n\ton Dec. 9, 2020.<\/p>\n

6<\/a>\u201cHypotheses
\n\ton Status Competition<\/a>,\u201d William
\n\tC. Wohlforth<\/a> and David
\n\tC. Kang<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rev. Sara E. Baron
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 13, 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Years ago, I read the book, \u201cDebt: The First 5,000 Years\u201d by David Graeber which probably sounds incredibly boring and … Continue reading \u201cMagnificent Magnificat\u201d based on\tIsaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 and Luke 1:46b-55<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,86,1887,1890,92,1888,56,57,1889],"class_list":["post-4579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-advent","tag-david-graeber","tag-let-your-nerd-hang-out","tag-magnificat","tag-prophet-isaiah","tag-schenectady","tag-sorry-about-the-umc","tag-thomas-edsall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}