“Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem,
and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.” (Baruch 5:1)
I grew up being taught to fear the judgment of God – no, fear is not the right word. We were meant to be terrified. The threats were constant enough to become ordinary, part of the air we breathed. If we dared to question it, we were assured that terror was simply how both God and humans kept things safe and under control. Jesus was reduced to a kind of buffer, the only thing standing between us and eternal torment.
But there were hints of another way – echoes in ancient texts; unexpected kindnesses between friends and strangers; the stirring of some ineffable joy and wonder while sitting in the garden; the tugging at the heart to be moved more by compassion than by threat. I learned to listen for the whispers of this other way, for the in-breaking of the Divine that could be welcomed with joy, instead of horror.
Advent, at least for me, is full of this kind of expectancy – the joy of anticipation that suffuses the hard work of social change. So we hear in this week’s reading from Baruch 5 that familiar Advent image:
“For God has ordered that every high mountain
and the everlasting hills be made low
and the valleys filled up, to make level ground,
so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.”
But we also hear the exuberant joy:
“The woods and every fragrant tree
have shaded Israel at God’s command.
For God will lead Israel with joy,
in the light of [God’s] glory,
with the mercy and righteousness
that come from [the Divine].”
Where does the joy come from? Those mountains and valleys are not about geography; they are about hierarchy. In the last two weeks, both Bruce James and Betty Lou have reflected on and lamented those hierarchies, especially racism, as well as the injustices they inevitably create. Advent reminds us that those disparities are not inevitable; they are mountains we can make low.
In a society that focuses on climbing ladders, crushing anyone who stands in the way, we are invited to form circles, joining everyone together on level ground. In doing so, we open up the way for us to dwell more fully in the Divine presence, just like John opened the way for Jesus with his message of solidarity and repentance. “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, … and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'” (Luke 3:5-6) What could be more joyful?
This also gives those of us who experience privilege and power in one way or another, and especially for those of us who are White, another way to understand our position and responsibility. In this image, the high mountain comes at the expense of the valley: we cannot accumulate wealth, power, or privilege without it being taken from someone else. This is how oppression works. And even if I was not personally involved in the injustices that piled up the mountain, it’s still my responsibility to help level the ground.
There’s no way around this. If you try to keep the mountain, maybe by filling in the valley with ground from somewhere else, you have just moved the problem around. You’ve only created another valley in another place. No, the mountain must be brought down. But it’s only upsetting to do this when we don’t want to give up the ground. The arrival of the Divine presence is only terrifying when you think that arrival means you have something to lose. But if we understand what is actually at work here, then leveling the ground, even amid the discouragement and difficulties, is an act of joy.
For most of us, our lives are filled with both mountains and valleys, and each of us must find the way to live our personal rules in our unique circumstances. But we must do the work; the mountain won’t level itself. Especially with a system like White Supremacy, so ingrained into most aspects of most societies, leveling must be both intentional and ongoing. A shovel-full every once in a while is not going to get it done. The joy of what lies ahead is part of what keeps us energized to keep going.
So as a reminder of this daily practice, I have found this wisdom from adrienne maree brown to be a wonderful help (http://adriennemareebrown.net/2018/03/12/excerpt-from-sublevel-report/ ):
“Where we are born into privilege,
we are charged with dismantling any myth of supremacy.
Where we were born into struggle,
we are charged with claiming our dignity, joy, and liberation.”
I can’t think of a better expression of the work we are called to do, as we level the ground and trade these old clothes of “sorrow and affliction” for “the beauty of the glory from God.” Happy Second Sunday of Advent!
In solidarity and joy,
Jacoba