An allegory for Christmas

Advent, 2012 God has routed the proud and all their schemes… and raised on high the lowly, God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty… (Luke 1: 51-53 Revised English Bible, adapted)

Our contemporary society, an allegory: At the security screening barrier in the airport there are two lines. One line is for people identified as needing less scrutiny than the rest. At the boarding gate all are sorted into groups according to wealth and privilege. First class ticket holders enter the plane over a red carpet. Military personnel are next. Out of the final seven groups, five are identified as “preferred” passengers. Therefore, five proud people out of every seven are privileged to have first claim to the overhead baggage storage areas. The final two groups scramble for the scarce leftover space.

With everyone seated, safety instructions are narrated. Amidst information about seatbelt buckling, exit lighting in event of a power failure, use of oxygen masks and equipment for an emergency water landing, passengers are informed that the two restrooms at the front of the plane are only for the twenty people in first class. The two at the back of the plane are for the other 150+ passengers! When the “vacant” light flashes over either of those, taunt muscles spring into action propelling those with “frequency issues” into competition to gain relief. As a distraction for those who must wait there are magazines in the seat pockets to be read, filled with enticements to order hundreds of expensive shiny things that everyone would be proud to own.*

The Good News of Advent announces an alternative world free from the schemes of the wealthy and the pride in stratified relationships. The birth of the Christ offers us hope in the vision of the hungry filled and the lowly lifted up.

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* For some interesting reading try Plutocrats by Chrystia Freeland. It describes the culture and values of the “super rich.” It gives understanding to the values and the culture of the .5%. We found the book through Bill Moyers and Co. TV program.