Finding God in the Margins: A Divine Reversal

Devotional

Day 1: The Margins as Catalysts for Change

In the Magnificat, Mary, a young girl from the margins of society, perceives a divine truth that is both powerful and transformative. This truth is about the great reversal that God is orchestrating, where the marginalized and downtrodden are lifted, and the powerful are humbled. Throughout history, significant changes often emerge from the margins, not the center. This is true in science, technology, and most importantly, in the spiritual realm. The Magnificat highlights this by showing how God works through those on the periphery of society. Mary's song is a testament to the fact that God sees and values those whom society often overlooks. It is a call to magnify God rather than our problems, to see His work in the unexpected places and people. [02:33]

1 Corinthians 1:27-28 (ESV): "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are."

Reflection: Who in your life might be considered "on the margins," and how can you intentionally seek to learn from them or support them this week?

Day 2: Shifting Focus from Problems to God

Mary's Magnificat invites us to magnify God rather than our problems. This shift in focus allows us to see God's work in our lives and the world, transforming our perspective and bringing hope. By choosing to focus on God's greatness and His ability to work through any situation, we can find peace and assurance even in the midst of challenges. This perspective encourages us to trust in God's plan and to look for His hand at work in every circumstance. [05:50]

Psalm 34:3-4 (ESV): "Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears."

Reflection: What is one problem you are currently facing, and how can you shift your focus to magnify God in this situation today?

Day 3: Embracing the Great Reversal

The Magnificat speaks of a divine reversal where the lowly are lifted, and the powerful are humbled. This is not about social envy but a reordering of values that reflects God's justice and kingdom. Jesus exemplified this by spending His time with those on the margins, showing that God's presence is often found where we least expect it. This Advent season, we are invited to look for God in the margins of our own lives and in the world around us. It is there that we will find Him, working to bring about His kingdom of justice and peace. [07:43]

Luke 1:52-53 (ESV): "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty."

Reflection: In what ways can you participate in God's great reversal by lifting up someone who is lowly or marginalized in your community?

Day 4: Discovering God in Unexpected Places

Jesus spent His time with those on the margins, showing that God's presence is often found in the overlooked and undervalued. We are encouraged to seek God in the margins of our lives and society. By doing so, we open ourselves to experiencing God's love and grace in new and profound ways. This requires us to be attentive and open to the unexpected, trusting that God is at work even in the most unlikely places and people. [12:06]

Matthew 25:40 (ESV): "And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’"

Reflection: Where in your life or community might God be present in unexpected ways, and how can you be more attentive to His presence there?

Day 5: Living Out Divine Justice

God's justice involves both lifting the downtrodden and humbling the exalted. This requires a willingness to let go of privilege and embrace a new way of living that reflects God's kingdom values. By aligning our lives with God's justice, we participate in His work of bringing about a world where love, peace, and equality reign. This calls us to examine our own lives and consider how we can contribute to this divine reordering of values. [08:39]

Micah 6:8 (ESV): "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Reflection: What is one practical step you can take this week to live out God's justice in your daily life, particularly in how you treat others?

Sermon Summary

In today's reflection, we delve into the profound insights of Mary's Magnificat, a song that reveals a world-changing vision. Mary, a young, unassuming girl, perceives a divine truth that is both powerful and transformative. This truth is about the great reversal that God is orchestrating, where the marginalized and downtrodden are lifted, and the powerful are humbled. This theme of reversal is not just a social or political statement but a deep spiritual truth that challenges our understanding of justice and God's kingdom.

Throughout history, significant changes often emerge from the margins, not the center. This is true in science, technology, and most importantly, in the spiritual realm. The Magnificat highlights this by showing how God works through those on the periphery of society. Mary's song is a testament to the fact that God sees and values those whom society often overlooks. It is a call to magnify God rather than our problems, to see His work in the unexpected places and people.

The Magnificat is a reminder that God's justice involves both lifting the lowly and humbling the exalted. This is not about envy or resentment but about a divine reordering of values. Jesus exemplified this by spending His time with those on the margins, showing that God's presence is often found where we least expect it. This Advent season, we are invited to look for God in the margins of our own lives and in the world around us. It is there that we will find Him, working to bring about His kingdom of justice and peace.

Key Takeaways

1. The Power of the Margins: Significant spiritual and societal changes often originate from the margins, not the center. This is where God frequently chooses to work, as seen in the lives of Mary and Jesus. We are called to look beyond societal norms and recognize the divine potential in unexpected places. [02:33]
2. Magnifying God Over Problems: Like Mary, we are invited to magnify God rather than our problems. This shift in focus allows us to see God's work in our lives and the world, transforming our perspective and bringing hope. [05:50]
3. The Great Reversal: The Magnificat speaks of a divine reversal where the lowly are lifted, and the powerful are humbled. This is not about social envy but a reordering of values that reflects God's justice and kingdom. [07:43]
4. Finding God in the Margins: Jesus spent His time with those on the margins, showing that God's presence is often found in the overlooked and undervalued. We are encouraged to seek God in the margins of our lives and society. [12:06]
5. Embracing Divine Justice: God's justice involves both lifting the downtrodden and humbling the exalted. This requires a willingness to let go of privilege and embrace a new way of living that reflects God's kingdom values. [08:39]
** [08:39]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:45] - Introduction to The Magnificat
[01:12] - Innovation from the Margins
[01:56] - Scientific Revolutions and Margins
[03:01] - Spiritual Life at the Margins
[03:33] - Metaphors of Justice
[04:47] - The Great Reversal
[05:22] - Magnifying God
[06:33] - Mary's Insight
[07:03] - Social Inversion
[08:27] - Humility and Exaltation
[09:14] - Impact of Jesus' Message
[10:01] - Mary's Vision
[11:35] - God's Presence at the Margins
[12:48] - Finding God in Life's Margins
[14:24] - Conclusion and Invitation

Sermon Clips

"There's a strange strange reality, strange Dynamic that many of the Great movements in life happen at the margins. I read a while ago David McCulla wonderful book about the R Brothers and it's quite extraordinary that of all the people in the world who would invent an airplane it would be those two they ran a bicycle shop for crry out loud they didn't have a formal education I don't think either one of them graduated from college they had no formal connection with uh prestigious educational institution no resources no money um you know nobody was scientific credentials and these are the guys at K there's nobody there nobody knows what they're doing and they come up with why is it so often in the world of um technology or uh Innovation or education or science." [00:59:16]

"Walter storf writes uh about this the great reversal metaphors is common in present day discourse about Society are those of the margin and the outside we speak of people as Outsiders and as living on the margins image in the background is of a circle with a center and circumference some people are at the center some out there on the margins outside in the Old Testament however writers worked instead with the image of up and down some were at the top of the social hierarchy some were at the bottom those at the bottom are usually not there because it's their own fault they are there because they are downtrodden." [03:30:19]

"Now the soul inevitably magnifies something it dwells on absorbs thinks about reflects on takes in um I got this more than 40 years ago I got the very compact Oxford English Dictionary and they send this little magnifying glass so I can see things that I otherwise would not be able to see and the soul is that way either I will magnify my problems make them look larger than they are Mark Twain said I am an old man and I have lived through many many problems most of which never happened and of course they didn't because I did preventative worry to warn them off you can magnify your problems or you can magnify God magnify the Lord what are you magnifying today." [05:10:44]

"This is the great reversal he has scattered those uh who are proud in their inmost thoughts he has brought down the powerful from their Thrones he has lifted up the lowly he has filled the Hungry with good things he has sent the rich away empty this is the great reversal now this theme was implicit Walter story goes on in the fact that it was to lowly Shepherds that the elevated Heavenly Host delivered the good news of great joy for all people a he was born this day in the city of David a savior it's implicit in the fact that the Shepherds found their lord lying in a Manger in a barn." [06:36:88]

"Part of it is unmistakable for the coming of Justice it's not sufficient to raise up the ones at the bottom leaving everything everything else the same something also must happen to those at the top they must be cast down justice for the downtrodden requires casting down the ones who tread them down coming of Justice can be painful but what exactly does this lifting up and casting down come to that's about how we don't know exactly what Jesus's status was but he was a homeless itinerant Rabbi who lived on all probably pretty low so as nii right to interpret this theme of social inversion the Great unversal as the expression of envy and resentment by those at the bottom against those at the top often happens in social social or cultural movements and the answer is no." [07:42:00]

"The coming of Justice the coming of Shalom the the coming of God's kingdom to Earth requires The Humbling of those who exalt themselves those of us who are arrogant must be cured of our arrogance the rich and the powerful must be cured of their attachment to wealth and power now the result of this is a paradigm shift a different way of looking at society and human beings and Walter Stark was on to write that for those of us who live in the west we're the recipients of this we get to live in a moral subculture that was impacted by Jesus and his message over the century so that it became over time although imperfectly a subculture of universal rights where the worth and dignity of every human being and particularly those who are most likely to be cast aside to be marginalized those at the margin that is what is seen." [08:38:59]

"That's part of what Jesus is getting after when he says whatever you have done for the least of these those at the margins those in prison naked poor hungry and so I'm there I'm at the margins that's where you will find me and what's amazing is the irony is that the person who saw this that there was a way out for the human race of tribalism and oppression and uh exploitation of other people it wasn't Herod the Great it wasn't Caesar it it wasn't the chief priest it was this uh unconnected uneducated Luke stops the story for this song she magnifies the Lord he has done great things for her and she thanks him for that but then she recognizes this is connected to the needs of my people of Israel and beyond that to the needs of this great world that's what God is doing he's turning everything upside down." [09:50:88]

"This song of this teenage girl continues to impact the world she saw something and it's got deep social and political and economic implications however it cannot be captured by any human political movement or economic system it is far deeper than that it is Rejoice for the Lord is with you you have been made in God's image and you are the object of God's unbelievable love and it is expressed supremely in the presence of his son Jesus on this Earth to live and to teach and to love and he spent most of his time out there on the margins touching lepers and uh being gracious to prostitutes and and hanging out with tax collectors and T he always at the margins why because God's at the margins because he's bringing the great reversal because those that our society is ready to discard God is right there with them and he loves them." [11:17:44]

"Of course he loves the rich and the powerful too long as those of us who are privileged are willing to let go of our privilege take up our cross follow him so meet him at the margins and do that in your own life maybe where you're disappointed where you feel like a failure where something has gone difficult you've lost your job you have a child that you ache for you've been experiencing separation or uh distance or loneliness oddly enough God is there he's there too in the good moments and the wonderful moments taste and see that he's good in the music that you love and the faces who make you smile he's there too look for him in The Quiet Moments in the margins of your own life and your own heart and then look for him in our world." [12:21:59]

"Don't forget this this Advent season don't just think about you don't even just think about your family think about where Jesus is on the margins you never know God sees so much worth and dignity in every human being I was at a Bible study uh with a group of people there folks who are addicts in recovery uh without housing uh thought to be on the margins in our society guy who's leading the Bible study asked a question one time one of those guys the guys got no place to live start citing Bible passages and quoting whole passages of scripture that I not only do not know I didn't even know they were in there it made me so glad I had not told them that I was a pastor tell them I'm a psychologist or something where you don't actually need to know anything." [13:04:88]

"You're going to find somebody God will bring into your life maybe it's somebody who is going through homelessness right now maybe it's somebody who is in hospice um maybe it's a child that has no one to care for them or help support them or give them a gift and you can do that he's at the margins that's where Jesus always is there's a reason why there's so much activity on the margins in our life God is at the margins God loves the margins God is out there on the margin saying bring them in bring them in bring them in Rejoice the Lord is with you get out there to the margins and find him my soul magnifies the Lord." [14:07:72]

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