The Second Monday in Advent -- John Howard Yoder
A Reflection on John Howard Yoder’s The Original Revolution (pp. 120-26)
John Howard Yoder urges us to listen afresh to those two beautiful texts – songs, really – that are found in Luke’s birth narrative: Mary’s Song, which we know as the Magnificat, and the Song of Zechariah, which we know as the Benedictus Dominus Deus. Both of these may be found in your Book of Common Prayer (pp. 91-92) as Canticles 15 and 16, and for centuries have been a staple of the Daily Office. I invite you to read them again this Advent.
Mary praises God in her song, and thanks God for choosing “this lowly servant” to be his servant for this world-shattering moment we call the Incarnation. But Mary goes on: in every generation, she sings, God has “shown the strength of his arm, scattered the proud in their conceit, cast down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.” God has also “filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has left empty.” In other words, Mary exclaims, God is creating a new order.
So too Zechariah. He extols God for “coming to his people to set them free,” and to “shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Again, it is a new order God is creating in and through the coming of the Messiah.
Yoder sees all this as a “revolution” and that is how he asks us to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Not a political revolution in any ordinary sense, or an earthly Kingdom in the Davidic sense; something far more cosmic. God’s vision for humanity, as St. Paul puts it, is “a new creation.” Jesus invites us into an altogether new way of being human in the world: a humanity known not by violence, but by peace; a humanity known not by boundaries, but by hospitality; a humanity known not by power, but by service; a humanity known not by hatred, but by love; a humanity that is neither Jewish, nor Gentile, neither American, nor “foreign,” but a humanity that is remade and renewed in God’s image through Christ Jesus.
So when we think of “Advent,” and “the coming” of God into our lives, perhaps one way of thinking about it is the coming of a “new creation,” both within our own individual lives, and ultimately, of the entire cosmos. What new things is God planting within your soul this season?
John Howard Yoder (1927-1997) was an American theologian and ethicist best known for his defense of Christian pacifism. His most influential book was The Politics of Jesus, which was first published in 1972.
John Howard Yoder urges us to listen afresh to those two beautiful texts – songs, really – that are found in Luke’s birth narrative: Mary’s Song, which we know as the Magnificat, and the Song of Zechariah, which we know as the Benedictus Dominus Deus. Both of these may be found in your Book of Common Prayer (pp. 91-92) as Canticles 15 and 16, and for centuries have been a staple of the Daily Office. I invite you to read them again this Advent.
Mary praises God in her song, and thanks God for choosing “this lowly servant” to be his servant for this world-shattering moment we call the Incarnation. But Mary goes on: in every generation, she sings, God has “shown the strength of his arm, scattered the proud in their conceit, cast down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.” God has also “filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has left empty.” In other words, Mary exclaims, God is creating a new order.
So too Zechariah. He extols God for “coming to his people to set them free,” and to “shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Again, it is a new order God is creating in and through the coming of the Messiah.
Yoder sees all this as a “revolution” and that is how he asks us to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Not a political revolution in any ordinary sense, or an earthly Kingdom in the Davidic sense; something far more cosmic. God’s vision for humanity, as St. Paul puts it, is “a new creation.” Jesus invites us into an altogether new way of being human in the world: a humanity known not by violence, but by peace; a humanity known not by boundaries, but by hospitality; a humanity known not by power, but by service; a humanity known not by hatred, but by love; a humanity that is neither Jewish, nor Gentile, neither American, nor “foreign,” but a humanity that is remade and renewed in God’s image through Christ Jesus.
So when we think of “Advent,” and “the coming” of God into our lives, perhaps one way of thinking about it is the coming of a “new creation,” both within our own individual lives, and ultimately, of the entire cosmos. What new things is God planting within your soul this season?
John Howard Yoder (1927-1997) was an American theologian and ethicist best known for his defense of Christian pacifism. His most influential book was The Politics of Jesus, which was first published in 1972.
Just how revolutionary Jesus' message was, was fairly well depicted in The Greatest Story Ever Told which I watched on TV yesterday. It was believable for most 21st century cynics, and I was grateful for the slow pace of the story,as it described a turning point in human history.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else posting comments? I can only see my own.
Your comments are appearing. I think you and I are the only one posting, grace!
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