His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
“His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.” Luke 1:51-53
The world has seen many revolutions but, arguably, nothing as revolutionary as this. The revolution that Mary was singing about here is moral, social and economic shaking the whole fabric of society. God’s intention is to turn everything upside down. Let’s look at the three aspects of God’s revolution, all of which we see clearly in the life and ministry of Jesus.
Firstly, there is a moral revolution as God scatters those who are proud. Jesus particularly illustrated this by his attitude to children. The disciples were keen to work out who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. No doubt they were hoping that one of them would be awarded the title! To their astonishment, Jesus replied by calling a little child to him and informing them that the only way to become great in the kingdom of heaven was by becoming like a child (Matthew 18:1-5). No revolution could
be more fundamental than changing a person’s attitudes from pride to humility.
Secondly, God brings in a social revolution. The powerful people are brought down and the poor are lifted up. We see this from the very beginning of Jesus’ life. Everything about Jesus’ birth was humble, from the place where he was born to the sacrifice for poor people that Mary and Joseph made when they took him to the temple in Jerusalem a few days later. The coming of the Messiah was a moment of massive historic importance and, typically, it was poor ostracised shepherds who were the first to hear about it.
Thirdly, God feeds the hungry and sends the rich away with empty hands. God brings about an economic revolution. Our materialistic society is predominantly acquisitive and we are encouraged to amass as much as possible for ourselves. But this is not how the kingdom of God works. God wants a world in which people are generous and loving, and everyone has enough. In Acts 2:42-47 we learn that this is precisely how the Church operated in its earliest days. We need to be constantly looking for ways
in which we can reach out with love and compassion to the poor, in God’s name.
Anyone who thinks that Jesus came into the world simply to make people happy and polite has missed the point. He came to turn the world upside down.
QUESTION
In what ways have you seen God’s revolution at work? What more should we be doing to implement his revolutionary principles?
PRAYER
Lord God, help me to be more humble and increasingly open to the ways in which you want to change my life, family, church and community. Amen