Dec. 6, 2012

The angel said, “He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will reign over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” – Luke 1:32-33

Grandpa (aka husband Rick) loves to ask our two-year-old granddaughter Ellie who is a princess. She’ll flash a huge smile and flutters her long black eyelashes as she dramatically peeps out, “Me!”

As Americans, it is harder for us to understand the significance of a king. Our founding fathers moved away from a centralized power family and established a three-branch system. Nonetheless, even Americans paid attention to William and Kate’s wedding. And who hasn’t heard about Kate’s pregnancy?

For over 500 years, the Hebrew people had been waiting for the Messiah. Several prophets spoke of a new king that would redeem the Israelites. The angel’s words remind us that this new “king” will come out of the same family as King David, the most revered king in Israelite history.

What was different is the kind of king that arrived. The Israelites anticipated a king that would lead them to battle and take back all of the Promised Land. They expected a king that would restore their country to previous greatness and notoriety.

But this is not the king God had in mind. God’s king could redeem all people. This king’s kingdom would live forever. This king was humbly born in a barn, lived a normal childhood and studied the Torah. This is also the king who accepted responsibility for all humanity on his shoulders and died for our sins.

This is also the kind of king who makes princesses and kings out of all of us when we name Jesus our king. In this sense, Ellie is right. She can and is a princess in God’s kingdom, as we all are.

Almighty God – It’s easy for us to misunderstand you God. When you redefine what a king is, we too often miss it. Thank you for wanting to make all of us kings and princesses in your kingdom.  Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne