Advent 8th December

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness. From then on and forevermore The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Readings

Psalm 150,
Isaiah 9:6-7, 

Hebrews 10:5-10

Reflection

Many centuries before this Child was born, God through the prophet Isaiah had promised a king upon whose shoulders would rest the government of the people. Peace, justice and righteousness were all assured under the reign of this successor to the throne of David. These were the promises of Almighty God! Finally, after such a long wait…finally the angels proclaimed, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!” Finally, the oppression of the enemy would come to an end. Finally, there would be peace on earth! Finally... finally. But  this newborn King, heralded by the angels, would turn out to be a different kind of king.  What kind of King do we expect? This newborn King—our Mighty God and our Prince of Peace—would establish a Kingdom that would last for all eternity. Is this right—is this the king we expect?
This King would turn the world upside down by dying that we might have life. Why was Jesus born? The ultimate paradox: He was born to die! And in that death, and after rising from a tomb that could not hold Him, He conquered death for all who would call on His Name. He truly was “born that man no more may die.” Glory to this newborn King!

Prayer

Lord,

inspire me to live in such a way that my choices each day and my commitment to live in a positive way may transform the negative into something positive, and the ordinariness of daily life into something extraordinary.

Amen.