A King is Born - A Descendent of King David and a Child of God - Christmas Eve

Acts 13:16-26 - Man of God's heart

Psalm 149

Luke 2:1-20 - Jesus is born and the Angels Appear to the Shepherds

A long time ago, when Israel had settled in the promised land, they also settled into this awful pattern. God saved them, and delivered them out of oppression time and time and again, but only shortly after they would turn away from him and begin to sin, do evil things, they would turn to other gods, they would turn against their neighbors and they would even hurt themselves. As the book of judges tells us, they had no king, so everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Does this sound familiar? 

We live in a world where everyone wants to be the Lord the king over their own lives and yet we see what results from this. We see the lonely and isolated islands that we have become. We feel all of the oppression that results. The oppression that seems to come from our leaders, and people around us, and somehow also seems to be bigger than it all. We see the evil and hurt that seems to surround us. 

So, what is the solution? The people of Israel thought they needed a King, so they demanded one of God. Except, they seemed to forget the oppression they experienced from the Pharoah, the king of Egypt, they failed to realize all the oppression and loss that resulted in all these other nations who had a king. They were right though, they needed a king, they just failed to realize that they already had a king in God, they just need to place him on the throne of their hearts. 

I think we believe we also need greater leaders. I don’t think we would go as far as a king, because we want to maintain the autonomy we have as much as possible, but we know we need someone that will change institutions, practices, and even hearts. Yet, I don’t think we know exactly what we need. 

When the prophet Samuel feels rejected by the people asking for a king, God says to him, “They are not rejecting you, they are rejecting me as their king”. Remember this was the same God who delivered them out of slavery in Egypt, who led them through the water, who fed them in the desert, who guided them from mount Sinai, who protected them, and who lead them into the promised land and who delivered them again and again from their own evil. This sounds like a pretty amazing king and yet for some reason they didn’t want him and often times we don’t either

King David would be the closest king we would get. This is ultimately because he was a man of God’s own heart as we hear in the reading from Acts. He was a shepherd, who knew how to protect and guide his flock. He trusted God, as he was willing to face seemingly insurmountable odds in Goliath. He was willing to suffer for God and the people, as he obeyed and ran away from King Saul, who was trying to kill him. He was merciful when he had the opportunity to kill Saul in the cave, he let him go free. He was faithful as he committed himself and his people to God above all others. He knew the joy of God as he danced and worshipped before God. There was so much more. 

Yet, he also fell short. He gave into temptation with Bathsheba. He failed to create justice when he refused to punish his favorite son. He had too much blood on his hands so he couldn’t build God’s temple. These were immense faults that created turmoil for the kingdom, for his family, and for future generations. Even our greatest leaders still fall short in similar ways. 

David showed us that we need a king who has the same heart as God and yet never falls short in showing us God’s will and in building his Kingdom. With someone who did so much and got so close and yet still wasn’t enough, we could feel quite hopeless about our situation, but all of this was meant to point the way. It was meant to show us the king we need and that we need someone greater than ourselves. 

That brings us to today and the fantastic and spectacular hope of Christmas. When we hear about a child of King David, we hear about our new king, we hear about God coming among us as Emmanuel and we hear about God saving us as the name Jesus means God Saves. Yet, there is something even more special about this God-king being born. 

In the crude comedy Talledega Nights, Will Feral says that he would rather pray to baby Jesus than adult Jesus. This is obviously to poke fun at the fact that we want to make God adhere to what we want him to be, rather than who he actually is and what we need him to be. It also pokes fun at the idea that we want a timid, undemanding God that we can control. The truth, though, is that we should dwell on baby Jesus. 

A baby is almost pure hope and potential that they can’t live into at this moment. We need to guide them into that potential and hope. The willingness of God to humble himself, to lose control, to wait, and to trust, shows us a God and king that is willing to lift us up, to create kings, queens, and leaders out of us. Yet, the way he does this in this context is by giving us the privilege of carrying and bearing Him. He humbles himself so we might literally bare him throughout the world - just as Israel was chosen to bear his name or just as all humanity was chosen to bear his image. 

Mary and Joseph do this as his parents, but the shepherds also do this as they bear the story and his name into the world. 

In baby Jesus, we see the God and king we need. Jesus is the king that will rule, that will show them the way, who will order the world and society for good and for God, but he is also the servant who will lift us up and make us the kings and queens we need to be. He gives us autonomy and yet he needs to be the king of our hearts. He is powerful and yet he empowers. The amazing and beautiful thing about Christmas is that we are given the greatest gift we will ever be given and yet we are also shown that we can be a great gift in this world. AMEN