He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands (Luke 1:53).
The Loch Ness Monster and Santa Claus have something in common—you can’t definitely prove that they do not exist. The world and its history are too vast to verify that they are not real. So we say instead, “You can’t prove a negative.” It’s up to those who believe to “prove it” to others.
In Mary’s song of praise, she claims that God is at work in the world, feeding the hungry and upending the systems of power and wealth that benefit some and burden many. We could dismiss her vision as easily as we do Nessie and Kris Kringle. Look around. Do you see the lowly lifted up? Do you see anyone hungry? You say God has filled the hungry? Prove it, Mary.
Because what we see, in contrast to Mary’s vision, is more hungry people than ever coming to receive food assistance at Hope Ankeny’s Cupboard, Hope+Elim’s meal outreach, and the new Pantry at Hope’s main campus in West Des Moines. What we see is people with wealth or power who seem to get away with whatever they want.
How do we bring together the hopeful vision of Mary’s song with the hard reality of our life experience?
This is Hope: both now and not yet. Trusting God’s goodness can feel like trying to prove a negative. Despite the hunger we see, we trust God’s provision. There is no evidence to show the hunger and harm that God has prevented, but we trust that it is happening. God has prevented disasters. God has brought nourishment to hungry people. God has uplifted the lowly. But the work is not complete.
We hope for the day when God’s will for humanity, the beautiful vision Mary sings of, will be fulfilled. And we trust that it is already happening. Are the long lines at our food pantries a sign of unfulfilled hope, or are they God’s way of delivering it—through the people of faith?
Mary invites us to trust that something unseen is happening. That God is lifting the lowly and feeding the hungry, even if we can’t verify it. And many times, if we pause to notice, we will recognize how often God’s good and perfect will becomes reality through us.
Reflection:
- Where do you see signs, big or little, that God is at work in your community?
- What parts of Mary’s song seem, to you, as improbable as Santa? How is that an invitation to you to participate in God’s work in the world?
- Are there areas of your life where you are struggling to trust that God is at work? Are there ways you know God is working, even though you can’t prove it?
Prayer:
Lord God, open our eyes to see the ways your mercy is at work in the world that were hidden from us before. Give us hearts that trust you, make us willing to pitch in, and make Mary’s song our song too. Let us sing of your goodness, even while we wait for your kingdom to come in fullness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.