He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
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...
From the Magnifcat, Mary's Song -- Luke 1: 52-56 NRSVue
Did you hear about the small Alaska cruise ship that responded to a stranded vessel a couple of weeks ago? It went around a massive yacht that belongs to billionaire Mark Zuckerberg to effect the rescue. Zuckerberg's $300 million yacht failed to respond despite several calls to do so.
After the fact a Zuckerberg spokesperson issued a release saying that the billionaire's family wasn't on the yacht at the time and the captain was using a different frequency so didn't receive the distress calls.
Oh well, that's better. While there was plenty of criticism about ignoring the law of the sea I didn't see any comments suggesting that a $300 million yacht shouldn't exist in the first place. Certainly this isn't the only one -- remember that the yachts of several Russian oligarchs were seized as the Ukraine was began -- and Amazon's Jeff Bezos has one worth $500 million. But the reality of these enormous fossil fuel guzzling pleasure craft tooling around the oceans is hideous, with or without their owners aboard.
The disparity between rich and poor continues to grow on our planet, even as climate chaos is making the planet unlivable. No one seems willing to challenge this abomination.
Apparently Zuckerberg has a sprawling compound in Hawaii with multiple homes and a blast proof bunker. What sort of dystopian fantasy world do these people live in? Colonize Mars? Flee to the bunker or yacht? They are ignoring the distress call of this moment thinking they will be protected by their wealth and power. What will be left for them, however rich them may be?
I like the vision of a peasant girl, Mary the expectant mother of Jesus. much better, although it is not Good News for some.
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