The Wheel in the Sky Keeps on Turnin’

“Our Lord, you break the bows of warriors, but you give strength to everyone who stumbles. People who once had plenty to eat must now hire themselves out for only a piece of bread. But you give the hungry more than enough to eat. A woman did not have a child, and you gave her seven, but a woman who had many was left with none.” – 1 Samuel 2:4-5 (CEV) 

Does this passage sound familiar? Perhaps a ring a bell? No, it’s not from the Christmas Eve liturgy, though one could be forgiven for thinking so. It’s an excerpt from the Song of Hannah, and it is a direct precursor to Mary’s song of praise the Magnificat. The Song of Hannah is full of dramatic reversals: the hungry filled, the weak made strong, the lowly lifted up. It’s no surprise that the Gospel of Luke would draw from this. This kind of reversal of fortunes is emblematic of Luke. 

It’s beautiful … and it also holds a temptation for me, hard-hearted as I am. I am tempted when hearing this to think that the lowly are to be lifted up because God likes them more. The mighty will be cast down because God dislikes them heaps. I might celebrate the downfall of my enemies, but God doesn’t. 

God does, indeed, cast down the mighty. But that’s not endgame. A mere reversal of who is on top of the heap is not the gospel. The gospel is freedom for all God’s people, so that no one is oppressed. The gospel is full bellies for all God’s children, so that no one is hungry. Until that day comes, the wheel will just keep on turnin’.  

Prayer
God, while you’re breaking bows, could you also break cycles of oppression?

About the Author
Rev. John Edgerton is Senior Minister and CEO of Old South Church in Boston. He is the 21st Senior minister in the congregation’s over 350 year history.