A royal title
The full title of Prince Philip (husband of Queen Elizabeth II) is more than 130 words long! The first half of his title is as follows: His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, Baron Greenwich, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, … Grand Master and First and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, etc … (Google “prince philip title”).
In our gospel reading (Luke 1:26–38) we hear the angel Gabriel announce to Mary that she will conceive and give birth to a king. In the ancient world, to be a king you needed three things: (1) be born into a royal family, (2) receive a title, and (3) reign on your throne.
All three are suggested in the angel’s greeting. Firstly Jesus is born into a royal family — the line of David.[1] Next, he’s given a title. His royal title is short, but impressive: “He will be great and will be called ‘The Son of the Most High.’” (Luke 1:32). Third, God promises that he will give Jesus his throne, from which he will reign forever. What child is this? A king! And he will be called ‘The Son of the Most High.’
Not merely meek and mild
We might look at this baby king and think he’s a pushover. “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild” as the hymn goes (LHS600). But your coming king is not merely gentle, meek, and mild. In fact, I contend that he’s untame: powerful and uncontrollable.
The untame king is powerful
Our Old Testament reading says this king in the line of David is powerful. He will “shatter the yokes that burden” people. He will “dash to pieces the rod of oppressors.” “Every warrior’s boot used in battle” will be burned, for the peace he brings will end all wars (Psalm 46:9). Does this sound meek and mild? Does this sound like a tame king?
God can’t stand the weak being oppressed. He can’t walk away from the distressed, hurting, or afflicted. And he can’t leave us in our broken and sinful state. Rather God must intervene. And this is the message of Christmas. Christmas is God intervening by sending a baby king to be born as ‘The Son of the Most High.’ Jesus the king will assume his throne and bring about a new reign, an everlasting kingdom of peace and justice.
Something that’s tame is powerless, docile, and gentle. Imagine if we had a God who was powerless to deal with sin?! Or too gentle to tackle evil?! There’d be no hope. What we see right now would be it. Can you imagine the world, as it is right now, for all eternity?
Jesus is anything but tame. He’s powerful. He doesn’t let sin and evil reign in us and in this world. Instead, the Christmas message is that this untame saviour comes with power to do something about the problem of sin and evil. The Christmas message is one of hope. We have a mighty king who promises to fix what’s wrong with us and this world. ‘The Son of the Most High’ attacks evil at the jugular, and deals a fatal blow to death itself. This untame king comes with power to defeat sin, death, and the power of the devil. Power to change you and this world.
The untame king is uncontrollable
Every king or queen has a different ruling style. Sometimes royals are given nicknames to describe their reign. “William the conqueror.” “Albert the wise.” “Charles the Fat.” “Ludwig the mad.” “Richard the lion heart.”[2] How does Jesus rule? What name would we give to describe his reign? Isaiah gives a few possibilities: “Jesus the Wonderful Counsellor.” “Yeshua the Mighty God who saves.” “Jesus, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6). We might add a few more: “Jesus the meek” doesn’t quite cut it!? What about “Yeshua the yoke smasher.” “Jesus the liberator of the oppressed.” “Jesus the peace maker.” “Jesus the roaring lion.”
What about “Jesus the bloody”? The main way that Jesus rules his kingdom is from the cross. The cross is his throne. It’s through the cross that Jesus brings peace to you, by mending your relationship with God. It’s through the cross that Jesus smashes the yoke of sin and death that burdens you. It’s on the cross that Jesus roars, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” As St Paul writes, ‘God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [the Son], and through [the Son] to reconcile to himself all things … by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.’ (Colossians 1:19–20). “Jesus the bloody.” “Jesus the crucified.”
Something that’s tame is controllable. Think about a horse or dog that’s been broken in. They (mostly) follow your instructions. You lead them around, get them to do tricks for you, they wear a saddle or collar. In contrast, Jesus is untame. Jesus doesn’t do tricks for us. God doesn’t bend to our demands or wants. We can’t control him or choose how he operates. Would you choose to deal with sin and evil through the cross? To be honest, I wouldn’t! The way of the cross is painful. The way of the cross is slow and excruciating. But the cross is how our untame saviour choses to deal with sin, death, and evil.
Waiting with Mary
Can you imagine how Mary felt receiving this message from the angel? We’re told she’s troubled and perplexed — no kidding! This news is utterly impossible, especially given she’s a virgin — a fact Luke points out twice! ‘God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.’ (Luke 1:26–27).
Perhaps you are troubled and perplexed at this Christmas news? You might ask: If Jesus has come to break the yokes, why am I still burdened? Why do I hurt so much if the “Wonderful Counsellor” has come? Where’s the peace in my life and family? Why is this Christmas so sad for me? Maybe you look at your situation and laugh: How can God possibly fix my messy life, that’s utterly impossible? How can there be peace when there is so much hurt, intolerance, and hatred?
This Advent, God invites you to wait with Mary as God deals with sin and evil through the cross. Just as Mary was asked to wait for the baby king, you too are asked to wait. We are promised that this untame king will shatter all the yokes that burden you. The Son of the Most High will dash to pieces the rod of the oppressor. The Prince of Peace will burn every warrior’s boot used in battle, for he is the end to all wars. The Mighty God will establish his kingdom of justice, and put everything right that is wrong. Jesus comes to bring peace and justice to all creation through the cross. He has come to bring peace to you. He wants to rule in your life, now and forever. He is great and has the power to do this. But for now we are asked to wait with Mary as God does this work through the cross.
So this Advent, may you be given the same faith that Mary was graced with. In the midst of this war torn world, may you have the faith to say, “This sounds utterly impossible. My yoke is too big, my burdens too great. But, I am the Lord’s servant, so yes, I believe. I wait for the untame saviour to rescue this dark world. I wait for him to smash everything that binds and holds down. I wait for this baby king to roar until everything is made whole again. May true peace, deep peace, be established in me and on this earth as in heaven. For no word of God will ever fail. May your word to me be fulfilled. Amen.”
[1] Luke gives a genealogy later which links Jesus to king David, see Luke 3:31 and also Matthew 1:1.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monarchs_by_nickname
