[Continued from CLM 966]

Christmas, of course, also reminds us of that first question.

That tiny helpless baby came and gave us a new answer to that question "who may
ascend the Hill of the Lord, who may stand in His Holy place?"

Through His coming, through His life – we see a new way opening up

…

The Psalmist says that only those who have a pure heart and clean hands can stand
before God …

AND YET when we look into our own lives we see compromise, uncleaness, half-heartedness
and impurity …

In the coming of Jesus we see one Who came, and would ascend the Hill in perfect
obedience, giving His life so that a new holiness could be freely given to us !

In many ways Christ’s Kingship is hard to see -> there are no red carpets, no
flags – there’s no military band playing the national anthem; No photographers
crowding around trying to get a shot of the new born king.

Sure, there is a star and a choir of angels -> but the overwhelming image is one of
simplicity and everydayness – nothing exceptional about a mother keeping her child warm in
strips of cloth; nothing exciting about shepherds or the shed in which he was born …

We believe that He is the Lord strong and mighty but there is nothing in his appearance
to give it away -> you’d never pick him, just an ordinary kid born in an ordinary
village.

When His ministry began it wasn’t as a great general in front of a great army
-> rather He wandered around Israel in front of a small group of disciples

AS ISAIAH had said: "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him"

He most certainly wasn’t one who was driven by a great Love for Power, RATHER what
we see in Him is the gentle all changing Power of Love!

Not the Love of Power but the Power of Love, the Love which was so strong that He gave
up His glory and humbled Himself as a servant for you and me humbled Himself even unto
death …

Humbled Himself so that He was silent before His accusers – like a sheep before his
shearers!

AND YET, His Kingship (so different then what we or what the Jews expected) still
continues to shine through – the Magi had no choice but to fall to their knees before Him,
the disciples dropped  everything and followed Him, the blind could see, the deaf
could hear, He commanded the demons to leave their victims, He walked on the water –

If that’s not true KINGship – what is? Even the waves obeyed Him. At His death
Pilate labelled Him the "King of the Jews" and the Roman centurion proclaimed
that He was the Son of God!

Even death was subjected to His rule. After His resurrection we see many references to
the Kingdom and to His Kingship –

Revelation 17 is one of the most famous there the Lamb is clearly called Lord of Lords
and Kings and King the mighty conqueror.

Brothers and Sisters on this Christmas day, as you meditate on the birth of Jesus
Christ, think also of this psalm – may your hearts be like those gates in verse 9 ->
lift them up, open them, and let the King of Glory enter in!

Who is this King of Glory?

• He is the Giver of every good thing that you enjoy, every gift you have ever received;
  family, home, job and friends;
• He is the source of the pleasures of prosperity, the blessings of adversity, the wonders
  of science, and the marvels of technology;
• He is the ultimate ruler over every life and nation;
• He is the transformer who takes broken lives, rebellious minds, and turns them around
  into instruments of praise –

"He has done mighty deeds with His arm, He has scattered those who are proud in
their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the
humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty
handed…"

We see that King of Glory – in the humble child wrapped in strips of cloth, and laid to
rest in that feed box in Bethlehem –

At first glance it is the weakest thing you could imagine, but on reflection it is the
most powerful thing God ever did for us.

Amen

Martin de Graaf <><

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