Catalyst Question

How do you define success?

Witnessing a New Era

This week, a new era in began in college sports: a twelve team playoff to name the national champion in collegiate football. For many years–in fact, for more than a century–champions were determined through voting of either coaches or media professionals. In 2014, a four team playoff format began. This week, this playoff expanded to include twelve contenders, with teams from Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame inaugurating this new era.

With more games, there will be more fans who witness the plays on the field, and likely more who will watch on television as well. Given the size of these stadiums, hundreds of thousands of people will experience this first playoff in person, and millions more at home. At the end of the whole process, we’ll witness one winner amongst the field of 134 contenders.

It’s odd that this new method of crowing a champion begins during Advent. Advent is also a new era of victory, but one where God prioritizes a very different sort of success. As we hear in this Sunday’s reading from Luke 1:399-55, God isn’t interested in crowing one winner. Mary’s song reminds all who hear, or read, that God lifts up the lowly, that all might become winners. Rather than a playoff to crown one true champion, Jesus arrives in Bethlehem to share divine success with all who play the game of life.

It’s interesting that, rather than a stadium full of adoring fans, God arrives among us through a backwater town. Born into a feeding trough, there was no live stream to witness Christ’s arrival. Especially because Jesus is God’s victory for all people.

In Advent, we await the successful culmination of Emmanuel with God’s arrival among us in Jesus. Jesus is the victorious presence of God in Christ. This divine arrival, which successfully brings divine blessing to all creation, is starkly juxtaposed this week with a very different kind of winning.

Let’s remember, as we approach the manger this week, that Mary reminds us God’s success is defined in profoundly different ways than our own. There is no tournament to God’s blessing, for in Bethlehem, God chooses to bless us all.

Ask Yourself: How can I encourage others with the Christmas reminder that there is no competition needed to earn God’s blessing?

Ask a Friend: Who are the “lowly” people, mentioned by Mary, who God lifts up? Who are those that the world looks at as losers but God welcomes into the winners’ circle?

Finally, this is the last week to take this survey and give your feedback about Faith Lens as we determine the format for the next season of this resource!