Reversal of Fortunes
What do you feel in your body when you try to imagine a world freed from violence and domination?
Psalm 37:12-13, 29, The Inclusive Bible
Unscrupulous people plot against the just,
and gnash their teeth at them; but the Sovereign One laughs at them,
knowing that their day is coming.
…
The just will inherit the land,
and dwell in it forever.
Psalm 37 responds to a question asked across scripture: Why do good people suffer while evildoers prosper?
Different biblical authors offer different answers to this question. This psalmist’s response is to anticipate a reversal of fortunes: Though wrongdoers prosper in the short-term, in the end it’s people who faithfully do what’s right who will flourish.
This inversion of greatest and least, where the poor are lifted up and the powerful are brought low, is one of scripture’s central themes, proclaimed over and over from Genesis to Jesus.
It’s also one of my favorite themes, because it’s just so very queer — if there really were a “Queer Agenda,” flipping society on its head, subverting its norms and tearing down its hierarchies would just about sum it up!
When I struggle to believe that the complete societal subversion that scripture describes will ever actually happen, one place I look to for encouragement is my queer and trans ancestors. In fighting with words, with bricks, and simply by refusing to conform, refusing to be erased, they set small revolutions into motion that continue to ripple out.
What do you feel in your body when you try to imagine a world freed from violence and domination? Are there any Bible passages, family stories, works of fiction, or past or present movements that help you believe such a world is possible? What wisdom can you draw from them for the work to be done today?