“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”  Gabriel, Luke 1:32-33 (NIV)

Dear Friends,

The passage quoted above is part of St. Luke’s lead up to Jesus’ first coming (aka ‘advent’). I guess Luke did not know that one is not supposed to mix religion and politics because he does so with abandon. Note words like ‘throne’, ‘reign’ and ‘kingdom’.  Mary was being clearly told by an angel that her son would be a powerful king who would rule forever.

It’s hard to escape politics. Canada just had a federal election. The US is in the throes of an impeachment inquiry. With respect to politics, I run through the gamut of fascination, disinterest, hope, anger, surprise and disillusionment – and I expect I am not alone. I think this is because deep within we’re waiting for the right one to come along. This one will set things straight, guard the peace and keep all their promises. They will be someone we can trust with our grandchildren’s future.

Realistically speaking, we never actually experience this – although we should of course continue to seek it and call our leaders to account. The problem is that our leaders are fallible like ourselves. They are susceptible to greed, pride, flattery, envy, anger and selfish ambition. Jesus was and continues to be the exception. He is humble, gentle, approachable, impartial, sacrificial and truthful while at the same time being confident, decisive and self-assured. He is the perfect King.

It is with good reason, therefore, that we celebrate Jesus’ coming into our world to inaugurate his kingdom. He is our hearts’ desire. It is also with good reason that we expectantly await his return when he will completely set things straight, bring peace to earth and keep all God’s promises. Come and join in our ‘advent’ watch as we share The Lord’s Supper together on December 1^st at Haliburton United at 10:30. Lunch to follow.

In Christ’s love,

Harry