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Archpastoral Message: The World Turned Upside Down

We read in Acts of the Apostles (17:1-8) of an incident that occurred when St. Paul and his company came to Thessalonica to preach the good news of the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation to His people in the person of Jesus Christ.  The leaders of the Jewish community, disturbed by the novelty of his teaching, “dragged some of the brethren before the city authorities, crying ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also… acting against the decrees of Caesar, and saying there is another king, Jesus.’” (Acts 17:6-7)

By “turned the world upside down,” the community leaders meant that the Apostles had created unrest in the public order, by proclaiming as true something they themselves had not accepted as such.  Their assessment however was in fact true, and profoundly so: in the coming of Jesus Christ as Emmanuel – “God among us” – the world was (or, rather, is) turned upside-down.  Our creator comes to us as a creature; the eternal as a child in time; the almighty as helpless; the exalted one as lowly…

And why?  Because in coming to us, God came as Himself—that is, as love.  To make visible to the eyes of our understanding that the One who called all into being would leave nothing undone to restore us to fulness of communion with Him, to gift to us His own life, life without limit.  Yes, in Christ, the world with its values is turned on its head.  The lowly are exalted, the needy are filled with good things, and the rich and self-satisfied are sent away empty.  For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, these are glad tidings indeed.  Christ is Born!

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