God has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
God has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
—Luke 1.52-53
This is no lullaby.
God doesn’t just lift the lowly.
God lowers the mighty.
This is no rising tide lifting all boats.
It’s typhoon, a redistribution of wealth.
This lovely child Mary bears,
this little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes,
will tear apart our hierarchies,
assault our structures of injustice
and upend the world.
This is the divine insurrectionist in the manger.
He will not comply: he will reign.
He will not be amenable to our economics,
our prisons and poverties,
or tolerant of our barbaric systems and slaveries.
Whether we like it or not
the Holy One will impose the Reign of Heaven upon us,
where there is no wealth or poverty,
no privilege, no caste.
To those with power, place and possession
the letting go will be robbery.
(And your own place will crumble, your confidence
in the world’s fairness though it favor you;
from that throne you will be taken.)
They will react against equality.
Evil will defend itself from justice with violence.
They will crucify.
Still, Gabriel was right.
The gentle child will prevail.
Let this lovely vision comfort you
and strip you of all the fear and anger
with which you resist it.
Rejoice in God your Savior,
for the Realm of Heaven is near.
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
God of eternity,
when the voice of the prophet was silent
and the faith of your people low;
when darkness had obscured light
and indifference displaced zeal:
you saw that the time was right,
and prepared to send your Son.
Set us free from fear and faithlessness
that we may be ready to welcome him
who comes as Saviour and Lord.
Lord, prepare us for your Advent coming.
In our prayers today
we try to come to you,
sure that you will come the rest of the way.
Lord, prepare us for your coming – in the world.
Come, drive away despair from our politics;
revive our dreams of justice;
restore our passion for what is good, right and true.
Establish your just and gentle rule
where peace has been powerless
and violent people have had their day.
Set a flame to the fuse of justice
where arrogant people have defied your order year after year.
Guard well the news of hope
where peace has come like a gift,
wrapped in reconciliation and gladness.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Advent Lord, come ever nearer.
Come to rejuvenate our faith.
Come to fortify our social conscience.
Come to open wide our eyes of wonder.
So that when the Saviour comes,
he may steal into our hearts – and find them ready.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Baptist Union of Great Britain
Isaiah 11:1-9
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Luke 1:76-79
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
Ephesians 2:14-20
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called…Prince of Peace. As the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
A government is a system of rule that implements the strategies and policies created to propagate healthy and holistic ways of living together. Peace in this government can be accomplished a few ways.
You can destroy everyone who has differing opinions about your way – eradicating all innate agency and uniqueness found in the world – and end up with a government based on the rule of compliance and the threat of shameful destruction. A kingdom of fear.
Or you can love the hell out of everybody by eternally offering your naked vulnerable self as a loving way that overcomes fear, selfishness, greed, and death – prizing all innate agency and uniqueness found in the world as a very cornerstones on which to build a government focussed on loving one another as one would love themselves. A kingdom of heaven.
The second government was illuminated on the shoulders of a naked newborn Prince. The announcement scared the powers so much that they killed innocent baby boys in the hope of sniffing out this Incarnation. Later on, the power successfully killed this incarnation in the hope that this way of being in the world would never catch on.
Two thousand years later, the powers are still trying to kill that way of being in the world. 2000 years later the Kingdom of Heaven still lives.
May your kingdom, Jesus, be on Earth as it is in heaven.