Is real change even possible?

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent and, along with it, the beginning of the new church year. The texts for this first Sunday of Advent describe newness and change.

…Therefore, keep awake–for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake. [From Mark 13]

Change is coming, and you need to be ready. The early Advent texts are not comforting, unless you are a person who needs dramatic change. Most people like stability, not upheaval.

Lately I’ve been thinking much about the “tipping point” our country is currently experiencing regarding the reporting of sexual harassment and sexual assault. The result is tremendous upheaval in the fields of state and federal politics, news organizations, and entertainment.

Will it result in newness and change? Or in backlash and renewed secrecy?

Why are so many women and a few men choosing this time to come forward? Because change is at the door. Victims now have the cover they didn’t have before. They’ve been afraid of exposure, embarrassed about what happened to them, fearful they’d be called the aggressors. They were right about that last thing. As supporters have circled around the predators, trying to protect political party and reputation, these women have been called liars and far worse. They’ve been shamed in the media and from lecterns and pulpits.

But as stories have been verified, and people have gathered to support the women in their telling of those stories, change appears at hand. Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “I believe the women.”

The thing is, we have to stay awake. We cannot let this moment pass when powerful people are being held accountable for that abuse of power. These moments have arisen before (Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Donald Trump), and we have failed to support the women, failed to move forward with substantive change. We did not ask for this moment, but here it is, surprising us with its audacity, its justice, its hope for victims, and that our society will seize it and learn from it.

Real change is possible. Stay awake. Change is at the door. Be ready to embrace it.

© 2017, Melissa Bane Sevier