by Mike Stavlund
Psalm Reading: Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
For Sunday, December 8, 2013: Year C—Advent 2
It seems one of the growing subtexts of the Christmas season is the self-perception of the subjugation and persecution of many Christians in North America. There is something in us that tries to present ourselves as mistreated, misunderstood, marginalized. Not unlike Jesus (who by the way seems to be under attack and in need of our defense)—all because someone with some empathy, manners, and/or cultural sensitivity kindly wishes us “Happy Holidays!” It must be a widespread conspiracy against Christmas. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Zero-Sum Shame
You can’t blame us, perpetually imagining that we are righteous, the true sons and daughters of the King, the ones worthy of God’s blessings. Always looking for God to protect and bless us, and unfortunately at the expense of others. It is human nature, and it’s nothing new.
The Psalm for Sunday seems to reinforce this one-sidedness: Justice for the poor! Prosperity for the people! Deliverance for the needy! Defense for the disenfranchised!
…and a crushing blow to the oppressor. (Whoever that might be.)
Look! Over there!
Of course the term ‘oppressor’ can denote a collective plurality of people, but I wonder if this translation is a further illustration of the conspiracy we try to ignore. The one in which there is no singular ‘Other’ or vague, elsewhere ‘them’ who oppress the poor, but rather a great vast ‘us’ who grind the disenfranchised under our heel, even as we call for the oppressor to be crushed.
It’s like some kind of systemic blindness. “We” are always the poor, no matter how wealthy we might become. No matter how impossibly bloated our definition of ‘middle class’ might be. No matter how much blame we can heap up on some horrible, hoarding 1%. No matter how many actual poor people we pass by every day.
We love to scapegoat, and we out-source our culpability better than any Wall Street corporate raider.
The Hardest Question
Who is the oppressor?
If God is going to crush the oppressor, what will that mean for you and me?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mike Stavlund writes from a 5-car pile-up at the intersection of his Christian faith and real life. A husband of over 15 years and a father of 4 children, he lives with his wife and 3 daughters in a small house outside Washington, DC. He’s a part of an innovative emergence Christian community called Common Table, a co-conspirator with the Relational Tithe, and a proud part of the collective called Emergent Village. He blogs at MikeStavlund.com, and his first book, "Force of Will", was published by Baker in the Spring of 2013.
