THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS
Micah 5:1-4a; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45
The news this week. Xi and Putin meet against the backdrop of the Biden summit. A build-up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border. Uproar in Parliament over the “Lakhimpur Kheri” case. Controversy rages over the F1 title race and there is a buzz about the IPL auction.
To deal with issues, humans have recourse to strong means: power, authority, money.
How does God deal with issues?
God’s standards and ways are different from ours. To save our world and us, he becomes human and joins us in our weakness. He is the God of small things.
In the first reading, Micah announces God’s intention to raise a king who would bring peace to God’s people. This ideal king would come not from the capital Jerusalem but from Bethlehem, a little obscure town. Bethlehem is small and obscure God will work through its littleness to raise a mighty shepherd king.
Little Bethlehem had within it a still littler life: a humble virgin who would give birth to the saviour of the world. The gospel tells us that Mary – humbly and despite inconvenience to herself – goes to serve her elderly cousin.
Our God is not a powerful king, but a fragile infant born in a lowly manger. Our God brings salvation not through power, authority, and money, but with humility, obedience and service, and by his death on a cross (see the second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews).
Our God is the God of small things; he comes among us in small ways.
Do I believe in the God of small things? How do I deal with the issues and problems of life: Do I use power and authority, or do I choose God’s little ways? Do I strive for influence and money, or do I allow God to work through my littleness and defects?
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