Advent | A Family ReflectionSample

Choosing the Lowly

by Marlena Graves

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

Luke 2:10

In 2013, the Seattle Times reported that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, used to sneak out of his archbishop’s residence in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to eat with the poor. His escapades in befriending, communing with, and personally helping the destitute living in Buenos Aires help fuel rumors that he currently sneaks out of the papal residence to befriend the poor and give them alms, reflecting God’s posture toward those on the lowest rungs of society. 

As Isaiah 57:15 tells us, “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” Our God is renowned for elevating, dwelling with, and even being born among the lowly.

When the King and Creator of the universe was born as the vulnerable baby, an angel announced his coming to shepherds. Then a whole host of angels lit up the night sky and erupted into a private concert of praise in the countryside. In the first century, shepherds were considered the dregs of society—bottom dwellers. Yet angelic messengers ceremoniously delivered Jesus’ birth announcement to them first. 

The gospel turns the world’s pecking order on its head. Jesus’s mother, Mary, understood this and proclaimed in song, “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble” (Luke 1:52). 

What kind of God is this who often chooses to reveal himself to the lowly, first and foremost? We consistently see this loving posture toward the lowly throughout Scripture. May we have the same posture, that we may be more like him.

Reflect on Luke 2:8–20. Who would you consider to be on the lowest rungs of society today? How do you think God regards them? 

Marlena Graves is the author of A Beautiful Disaster: Finding Hope in the Midst of Brokenness. She lives in Toledo, Ohio.