Nature :: Spirit — Kinship in a living world
The Christmas story of the baby born in a manger follows, in Luke, the revolutionary song composed by his young mother, Mary, while she was pregnant. She sang about God upending the social order by filling the hungry with good things and sending the rich away empty—a vision of social justice that modern people have all but forgotten. We delve into her song, “The Magnificat,” showing how relevant it was to her time, when a few wealthy families controlled most of the riches of the Roman Empire—and how relevant it is today in similar times. The story of the baby in a manger is a story of poor people in desperate circumstances taking shelter among the lowliest—the animals. In light of Mary’s “Magnificat,” the Christmas story says that true peace is found in true justice—in following the way of sharing and equality. May the blessings of justice become real in our time.