First Wednesday in Advent PERFECT KINGDOM COMING 4
Scripture: Isaiah 9:6-7
6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
Luke 1:29-33
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Some thoughts:
In the swirl of everyday concerns and pressures it is quite easy to lose a larger perspective. Too often we wake up and grab our phone or I-Pad to see what happened overnight. Were there any tragedies or great disasters? What did the world’s leaders do while we slept? The immediacy of the news is relentless. It is quite easy to become addicted to sound bites. We feel we’re behind trying to catch up and we’re not out of bed yet! Maybe things are not that drastic, but such is too close to the truth for too many of us. What would be different if our first thoughts and words every morning were “Thank you Lord for the rest and restoring of my soul and body. You have all things under control and in that I rejoice.”
In today’s pericope, we have a description of that perfect world we long to wake up to. Isaiah wrote this description 2700 years ago of a government that is yet to happen! Isaiah’s words were written some seven centuries before the time of Christ. Talk about being ahead of the game! Eventually, a government will be set up under King Jesus, a perfect kingdom, with a perfect Ruler where peace will rule forever! No lying. No bribery. No corruption. No scandals. No political “spin.” No necessity for presenting “two sides of the story.” No need for media, lawyers, doctors, politicians, police, or preachers. No AI or technology needed. In short, there is nothing for this world to contribute to the kingdom of God except us!
In his kingdom truthfulness and compassion abound. No documentaries on scandals or breaking the laws. This glorious rule of Christ lasts for all eternity! The best news is that it will happen and those who have been redeemed by the blood of the King will be there. We won’t be reading about it; we will be there! We will be part of it. While we dare not escape this world with all its difficulties and uncertainties, yet we must ever be aware that there is a certain world coming that is unseen at present, yet more certain and real than the present! Advent is the season which compels us to be ever watchful and living each day with anticipation for the return of the Prince of Peace.
The apostle Paul says it so beautifully in 2 Cor 4:17,18. “7 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
Music: “And the Glory of the Lord” Voces 8
Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
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