A person from the crowd reflects on Jesus’ radical teaching:

When I was a child, I used to love hanging by my knees from a low branch, watching an upside-down world go by. 

It took me quite a while to realise there was something wrong with my way of thinking.  While I hung inverted, my hair fell down above my blood-filled head and my clothes ran the risk of slipping to cover my face (while uncovering other parts that should have remained well and truly hidden!)  My upside-down world-view took a great deal of effort to maintain and I could only stay like that for short periods at a time.  Yet, everyone else carried on just the same as ever.  Their hair and clothes hung normally, as if pulled as usual to the earth.  The sky was above their heads and the floor was still at their feet.  Nothing had changed in their world.  In truth, the only thing that was upside down was me!

But when Jesus spoke about turning the world upside down, he meant something far more radical than that!

I was part of the crowd waiting for him on the mountain side.  In time, Jesus returned with his newly chosen disciples. There were twelve of them, and I wondered if there was a subtle hint there?  An echo of the twelve tribes of Israel?   Quite possibly!  We all sensed we were at the beginning of something big and pressed in tightly to hear what he had to say.

Now, I have to say that I found Jesus’ teaching both heart-warming and horrific, calming and explosive, sharp and clear yet bewildering all at the same time!

Here taught us this two-verse rhyme, so easy to remember, the second verse an opposite image of the one before. 

To start with it was beautiful.  A lovely, comforting verse, full of so much promise.  No one with a speck of humanity in them could fail to be stirred by it.  Who doesn’t want to see the hungry fed and those who are sad finding cause to laugh again?  Who doesn’t want to see those who are excluded generously welcomed and those who have been rejected for their faithfulness coming at last to receive their reward?  There’s a party for them in Heaven, Jesus told us.  Our hearts cheered him on as he taught.

Then came the bombshell.  For everyone who is lifted up, others will be torn down.  The rich will find they’ve used up their credit. They will go hungry. They’ll have nothing to smile about anymore and no amount of sweet talking will get them out of it.  The scales of justice are shifting. And as God’s balance is restored there will be winners and losers: some will be lifted up and others brought down. 

I like the lifting up part, but the rest terrifies me!  This is revolutionary stuff, and it won’t come without a reaction.  There will be trouble.  The rich will not give up their treasures easily.  They will cling tenaciously to their luxury and privilege.  They always have done. They have the power to do so with force.

Not that it will do them any good.  Jesus is adamant; this great upheaval is inevitable.  Change is coming. God’s justice will be done.  Their wealth and power an is but illusion, meaningless beyond the moment, giving no long-term gratification.  In the grand scheme of things, they’ve backed the wrong horse and will lose everything.

While we have everything to gain.

Well, I say we – but here’s the sting.  For sure, I’d love to see the smile wiped off the faces of some who think themselves entitled, but I’ll not be dancing at their down fall.  And why not? Because, in truth, I’m not sure which side of this balance I stand on!  I’m not rich like some are rich.  I don’t have the palaces, chariots, servants and feasting.  But I’m not that poor either.  My children don’t cry themselves to sleep in hunger.  We’ve got a home, good health and a respectable living.  I never think of myself as rich, but compared to many… 

And here’s the worse part, if I’m not rich, there is always a big part of me that wants to be!  Who amongst us doesn’t secretly long for a windfall and, if not dreaming of luxury, still believes they’ll be happy if only they had a little bit more?  I confess that’s me! 

So, while I am excited by the promise, I think I still find myself hanging upside down in his beautiful kingdom.  My clothes are slipping and I fear I’ll be exposed.  My heart is at odds with the values of Jesus and I find myself red-faced for sure.  The pressure in my head is building.  I’ve got to right myself before it’s too late!   But how?