Stir up your power, we pray - and with great might come among us. And he does, but that power is not evident at first. At first, he comes as a baby…
But the psalmist warns us, put not your trust in princes.
for there is no help in them.
3 When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *
and in that day their thoughts perish.
4 Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! *
whose hope is in the LORD their God;
5 Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *
who keeps his promise for ever;
6 Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *
and food to those who hunger.
(Psalm 146: 2-6, BCP)
The help Jesus gives is the help of Christ the King, a king unlike any other, in fact subversive of the dominant paradigm of monarchy. If he is king, we have missed the meaning of "king" -- Jesus does not come among us like Saul, a mighty warrior, or David, a comely and pious and witty man.
Jesus does come among us, as healer, savior, and thus king beyond kings. Jesus comes among us and we behold what it really means to be king.
Today we return once again to the image of the fore-runner, of John the Baptizer, who, having proclaimed that the one who was to come has come, sends for reassurance that Jesus really is that one.
What did you go out into the desert to see? What did you see?
What did you see? What did you hear? Testify to that, tell John that, says the Lord.
And the signs he cites say who he is. And who he will be. And what his kingdom, call it that, will be.
Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.
What was old news, that the day of the Lord would arrive, is new again; he is coming indeed, and in his coming is splendor.
And so today in the midst of Advent, our 'little Lent' of blue, we have a Sunday of rose. We have a day of joy.
Various people have asked me, what do you celebrate this season? Joy. Hope, peace, joy, love. And truth. And, therefore, justice.
For he is coming, and there is judgment. The word of the Lord, embodied in a baby, is the terror of kings. And more than that: as an old song says,
is come to rifle Satan's fold;
all hell doth at his presence quake
though he himself for cold do shake;
for in this weak unarmèd wise
the gates of hell he will surprise.
Robert Southwell (1561? - 1595)
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!”
She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 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 rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.
Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son. Nothing is impossible for God.
Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
(Luke 1:26-35, 37-38. Common English Bible)
“Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”
This Sunday we sing Mary’s response to the news:
“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
(Luke 1:46-50, Common English Bible)
Blessed. And then we celebrate the night she gave birth. She does not complain about pain, not focus on the travails she could expect; her attention is on what the Lord is doing, for her and through her.
Into the world is coming the kingdom of God, that was and is and is to come. In her womb she carries the paradox of salvation.
How can this be? How can all this holiness, all this grace, all this power, be so fragile and frail in its arrival? The fate of the world, found in a small small thing.
Soon the powers that be, from Herod Antipas, client-king of the occupying empire, to the quislings whose interest lies with holding the people down, will be searching and seeking to destroy the small hope of humanity.
But as we have been reminded this season, in psalm and lesson, the powers of the earth are nothing next to the power perfected in weakness, the power that was kept in a cradle, then spread across the earth.
Wait till you see how Herod reacts, when he hears the Messiah is born.
Wait till you see how Rome responds, when they hear the words, Jesus is Lord (and Caesar is not).
Wait until you hear the words, I follow Jesus, and so I must show compassion to the poor, clothe the naked and feed the hungry, speak for the voiceless and innocent, and do justice in my daily life.
Wait until you see that, you see the hand of God at work in the people around you, the world about you.
Then you will know he is come; for he is certainly near.
Come, Lord Jesus. Maranatha: O come, Emmanuel. Come among us.
And let what we wish to see and hear be what is seen and heard of us: the presence of redeeming grace.
Hope, peace, joy, love - and truth.
● Canticle 15
● James 5:7-10
● Matthew 11:2-11
Episcopal Church of Saint Matthew, Tucson (https://stmatthewtucson.org/)
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWI48qhKGZc5dZVf5elsRPw
© John Leech 2025
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