Luke 1:51-55
“He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” vss. 52-53
As Mary continues to magnify the Lord she remembers the true nature of God as revealed through the history of Israel. Her God is no friend of the rich and the powerful and has regularly acted to undermine their attempts at domination and suppression. Her song assumes that God will continue to stand with the poor and the hungry, and that her son will lead the way in establishing a new kingdom of God on earth. There is such clarity in her vision that it boggles the mind to even imagine that there is another way of seeing God’s intentions. But that’s exactly what we do! Everywhere we look we see purported followers of Jesus taking the side of the powerful and the rich against the poor and the lowly. Oh we continue to throw crumbs to the hungry…we’re good at that…and we’re skilled at piling up tax deductions with our end of year gifts in this “season of sharing.” Such self-deception is a mark of the sin that clings so closely and reminds us that even our good deeds are easily tainted by selfishness and greed. But there is hope! On this darkest night we are reminded that the Light has come. Jesus has been born…and as he is born again in our hearts, the darkness falls away and we can live as God desires.
Thought for the Day: If God loves the lowly, why are the powerful prospering?
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