Do you think Mary really meant it when she said God would send the rich away empty?
Do you think that would make her happy?
Do the rich need to be sent away empty? Is it good for them?
Or is the Magnificat just the song of a poor girl, shaped by poverty to think that all the problems of their world would be righted if only the rich would get their comeuppance?
Do you think she really hoped that princes would be toppled from their thrones? Did she have any idea of the political upheaval that would cause?
Would the world be better if the poor were suddenly to become rich, or the powerless would suddenly have power?
I don't think so. It would just be the same thing all over again. Power corrupts, and all that.
Maybe Mary's vision is bigger than she is. Maybe the Kingdom is when God comes near to everyone, regardless of their station. Maybe being in God's presence shows the haves what they have not, and the have nots what they have. Maybe having been sent away empty would cause the rich to turn to God. Maybe having their bellies filled will enable the hungry to know God.
I wonder. I wonder what she saw when she sang, and what she hoped for. I wonder how she hoped we would live, we who still call her blessed, generations later.
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