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
Luke 1:51-55
Mary’s song gives definition to Luke’s vision of the peaceable kingdom. As he sees it, God is no unbiased bystander in the great scheme of things. Rather, God is intimately involved and has a pronounced bias for the poor and the hungry. Luke simply doesn’t buy the contemporary notion that wealth is a sign of God’s favor and that great riches are God’s gift to the powerful. But still we wonder? What are we to make of the fact that the rich have seized the reins of power in our world and have crafted laws and regulations that will bring them even greater wealth? Is the Magnificat just a kind of pious drivel, some myth to assuage the hungry and the poor in the depths of their despair? Is the real truth that the rich have got the upper hand? And that God just doesn’t care? Those are big questions, one’s that the followers of Jesus have struggled with for generations. To this point though believers have not capitulated and many have chosen to embrace Mary’s counter-cultural message. Millions have embraced simplicity and are spending their wealth to feed the hungry and empower the powerless. In response to their presence the rich are feeling the pressure and the thrones of the powerful are beginning to totter. The peaceable kingdom is coming!
Thought for the Day: What would I do if I lost my wealth?
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