No mention of Mary Maybe a plus.
The sermon on the mount says 'blessed are those who hunger for righteousness' but the spiritual hunger and spiritual poverty seems reemphasized toward a left leaning understanding of the gospel
Well, I take it you must have a rather hard time reading the
Magnificat verses of the Gospel of Luke, where the Blessed Virgin Mary delivers the liturgy's most famous and beloved antiphon of praise to God, and with a revolutionary social message to boot (verses 51-53):
Luke 1:46-55
Mary’s Song of Praise
46 And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
This is the longest speech delivered by a woman in the entirety of the New Testament and it has proved to be massively influential in the history of Christian thought. Mary begins by glorifying the greatness of God (Luke 1:46), acknowledges her devotion to the Lord (Luke 1:48), and then promises deliverance to the poor and oppressed through the reversal of unjust social structures (Luke 1:50-53).
How that's for you?
See:
https://pax-bonum.com/2016/02/12/the-magnificat-a-jewish-text-and-its-christian-implications/
Magnificat anima mea Dominum is one of the most oft recited texts in Christendom. Traditionally ascribed to Mary of Nazareth, this powerful song captures the exuberant joy of a mother who was the first to receive the Good News and the spirit of a people hopeful for deliverance...
Schaberg and Ringe posited that the Magnificat’s strong identification with the poor, and its radical call for justice and the transformation of the prevailing social order, indicate that the hymn may have been written by Jewish or Jewish-Christian anawim (2012, p. 504). However, though the Magnificat uses the voice and the concern of the anawim, it is ultimately a song that “proclaims liberation with tough authority” (Schaberg & Ringe, 2012, p. 504). The strength of the Magnificat’s message lies in Mary’s total trust and reliance on God.
If the Magnificat is Jewish in its affirmation of a God who listens to the cries of the poor and delivers them through justice, it is also thoroughly Christian because of its faith in a God of paradox and reversal (Connelly, 2014, p.8). From a Christian lens, the Magnificat makes manifest God’s action through the lowly, the hungry, the poor, and through Mary herself. Mary is among “the humiliated ones who have been lifted up, the hungry ones who have been filled with good things” (Ruether, 1993, p. 155). This paradox is a specifically Christian message, which will be reiterated in the Beatitudes and will be developed more fully and explicitly, as it pertains to the personhood of Jesus Christ, in the idea of kenosis, found in the Pauline Epistles...
The Magnificat is at once familiar and challenging, beautiful but daunting. It is one of the most popular prayers, recited daily as part of the Divine Office and with a privileged place in the Liturgy during the Advent season. Because of this ubiquity, the Magnificat has taken on a pious, gentle gloss that belies the fiery radicalism of its message (Yoder, 1994, p. 21). It is a radicalism that has led to the song being banned by various totalitarian regimes and unjust organizations throughout history (Connelly, 2014, p. 8). The reversal of power called for by Luke, placed in the mouth of the mother of Jesus, is tantamount to a battle cry for deliverance from unjust social, political, and economic structures. It is a call for a conversion of hearts that results in an actual shift in our social structures and relationships. In effect, the text calls for revolution!...
The Magnificat calls us to work for justice through the elimination of structures and systems that oppress the poor, the vulnerable, and those whom we keep out of the sheepfold. This part of the equation can sometimes cause anger and division, especially when polemics replace one injustice with another. However, the “casting down of rulers from their thrones” and the “sending of the rich away empty” (Luke 1: 52-53) are not meant to incur violent retribution for those who currently have authority, money, and might. Rather, this part of the text points to a leveling-off of station, wherein the rich and powerful, who have much, are lowered while their brothers and sisters, who have little, are increased. The rich will not be given more because they already have the resources, rights, and protections they need to survive.
The poor and the oppressed, who are destitute, wanting, and exposed, will receive the necessary sustenance and recourse to justice to reclaim their dignity and humanity. Thus, the Magnificat is about a restoration of right relationships among the children of God through the establishment of a just and equitable society, wherein all may come to the table of the Lord on the same footing. Finally, the “dispersion of the arrogant of mind and heart” (Luke 1:51) calls for a realization of God’s power and loving presence for all, especially the lowly. This awareness of a genuine encounter with the Most High will surface in our consciousness to engender a humble, enduring conversion through love.
The Magnificat poses a daunting challenge for today. By analyzing the origins of this text and by placing it within the framework of Luke’s Gospel, we can appreciate the richness of its message, as it was heard by the early Jewish-Christians of the first century and as it applies to us today. This powerful text transcends the superficial barriers of tradition, economic status, and politics to deliver an urgent call for justice and right relationship, placing all of us, rich and poor, oppressor and oppressed, on the same level. Mary’s song breaks down oppressive structures that promote injustice and alienation and calls us to affection and solicitude for the other, thereby restoring our dignity and humanity, as God has always faithfully done.
