Syria Set Free

  

God has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
    and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty.

From the Magnificat Luke 1: 51-53 NRSVue

When I wrote on the weekend about the two invitation-only services for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral I commented on the inclusion of the Magnificat, peasant teen Mary's song of hope and justice for a new world order. There was an irony that this "Notre Dame" (Our Lady) was before a congregation of the wealthy and influential, including a US President-elect who is a convicted felon who admits that he never really considers the Christian principle of forgiveness. 

Yesterday morning, in the hours between these two services there was a stunning development in Syria. The wicked despot, Bashar al-Assad whose reign of terror has imprisoned and murdered tens of thousands and displaced or sent into exile 12 million citizens had fled the country. A new regime made up of a coalition of rebel groups had swept al-Assad away after decades of iron rule. There is considerable concern about whether this new government will have any lasting commitment to democracy yet Syrians in the diaspora, including the more than 25,000 who came to Canada, are celebrating. The first of the several Mansour families our local coalition, including Bridge St, UC, sponsored as refugees arrived almost exactly nine years ago on December 11 2015. It was such a poignant moment and I'm emotional on their behalf today. 

              Crowds inside Saydnaya military prison hoping for information about former detainees

I'm also trying to imagine the scenes of trepidation, astonishment and joy as the doors of political prisons were thrown open and the people living in despair were told that they were free. They would have no knowledge about the previous tens days as the rebels took city after city. 

All of our sponsored families and most of the refugees were and are Muslim but we were able to be mutually respectful because love, compassion, and justice are common currency among people of good will and faith. 

Also according to Luke, Jesus, son of Mary, also a peasant, once stood in the synagogue in Nazareth and read from the Isaiah scroll. We can say a loud "amen!' to the spirit of this proclamation by the Prince of Peace and pray for the safety and future of the Syrian people. 

When [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
        to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
        to set free those who are oppressed,
 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke 4:16-19 NRSVue