Week 4: Advent & Esau McCaulley's Reading While Black
Week 4—December 20, 2020
Lectionary Readings: 2 Samuel 7: 1-11, 16; Psalm 89: 1-4; Luke 1: 46-55; Romans 16: 25-27
Esau McCaulley Ch. 7 through conclusion
Retelling the Advent story is a way of making known the faithfulness of The Lord through the generations (Psalm 89:1). Recounting Jesus’s birth is telling Israel’s story, and truly, we hear the miracle of what it means to be grafted in as Gentiles, outsiders. If we pay attention to Israel, we hear the echoes of a people who understood that God’s faithfulness “through all generations” has meant a bit of change for them.
The Christian imagination has unfortunately shrunken ancient Israel to be a monolith, but it was never “biologically ‘pure’” in McCaulley’s words. Israel was a diverse crowd of many ethnicities, and it was the Exodus that formed them into one community. We see from the Exodus to Advent, as McCaulley says, “The Bible is first and foremost the story of God’s desire to create a people. We are encompassed within that desire.”
Israel was a people, though, that changed over generations. In each epoch they adapted from being nomads to kings, from Tabernacles to Temples, from exiles to liberated.
The Lord reminded Israel of his long history with them. Israel rested in the knowledge of the word the Lord gave to Nathan regarding the possibility of building the Temple. The Lord has been with Israel, moving with them, wherever they have gone, and that place would be home.
6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. (2 Sam. 7:6)
9 I have been with you wherever you have gone…10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. (vv. 9a, 10)
The New Testament also shows how a people’s imagination can be expanded, which is a must because Jesus changes everything. He changes our notion of time and space—the very way we demarcate time. We understand his life, death and resurrection to open the once-impenetrable community border to the we Gentiles (Romans 16:26). Mary understands that Jesus will change the world by extending mercy, scattering the proud, lifting up the humble, filling the hungry, etc., “just as he promised our ancestors” (Luke 1: 50-55).
But Advent reminds us that hope is a slow-build, and in these times of separation from loved ones, economic stress, and political turmoil we know that these circumstances, painful as they are, do not alter the already inaugurated reign of Jesus, our king. Israel’s hope was built over generations. The telling and retelling of the old stories formed the people who would have reason to hope, because they had resources of hope. As we journey toward Christmas day and we conclude our Advent study, we should learn from our brother, Esau McCaulley, who reminds us that Black Christians have pointed the way to God’s Kingdom no matter their difficult circumstances. They have turned to the Bible, because as McCaulley says, “the very process of engaging these Scriptures and expecting an answer is an exercise in hope. It is an act of faith that has carried Black people through unimaginable despair toward a brighter future. The Bible has been a source of comfort, but it has also been more. It has inspired action to transform circumstances. It has liberated Black bodies and souls.”
In a similar vein, we should ask the Lord to prepare us for a new season where our imaginations might be transformed. A new verse is added to Mary’s song in every age. Those who seek deliverance are named again and again in her Magnificat. And yet, Mary’s baby boy comes to save us all; this is the story of hope we tell again and again.
Questions and Ponderings
McCaulley spells out his intentions clearly in Reading While Black: He wants to explain the Black ecclesial tradition that informs his reading of the Bible, as well as his work as a priest and professor. He has a perspective, and that perspective shapes the way he follows Christ. How is your reading of the Bible and your understanding of the faith shaped by your perspective? If you have no idea—if this question doesn’t make sense to you—perhaps it would be worth your time to reflect on what shapes your notion of following Jesus.
How might listening to voices outside of your typical circles expand your imagination for the Church? Let your listening be a sign of hope to those who feel unheard.
Hope, like many things, must be practiced. What hope-filled practices do you wish initiate or renew in this season and beyond?
How might those hope-filled practices be extended to your neighbor?