“THE ONCE AND
FUTURE KING”
THE ADVENT OF
THE KING & HIS KINGDOM
Christ’s Kingdom
of Power
Adventide Midweek
1: 4 November Anno + Domini 2014
Fr Jay Watson
SSP
In The Name + of
The King, Christ Jesus
The mystery and sacrament of the Nativity,
of the newborn baby boy lying in the cradle, suckling at His mother’s breasts,
is that He is the King of the universe.
Adventide is a season in the Church calendar
year that precedes the yearly celebration of Christ’s Nativity—Christmas. But
since every Sunday, literally every day is a “day that the Lord hath made” and a day in which the ever-present
incarnated God/Man reigns in His presence “for
you,” every day is also Advent. Every day you wait for His imminent return in
visible glory. If you don’t wait
anxiously, prayerfully, anticipatorily, than your faith is weak and you need to
repent. And yes Advent is a season of
serious repentance. But such is the life
of a Christian. Take stock!
The sectarians are correct that God is
sovereign. God is King because He is “being”
and not an impersonal force. God is
Triune---Three persons in one Godhead. The King is omnipotent to be sure: “I am the almighty God” He says and has
Moses record. [Gen. 17.1] The God/Man
Christ, your Advent King in the flesh says as much to His Mother and Disciples:
“with God nothing shall be impossible”
[Luke 1.37] and “with God all things are
possible.” [Matt. 19.26]
And with that precious baby (“not with gold or silver, but with His holy,
precious Blood and with His innocent suffering and death”...) the Virgin held
in her arms The King of Power and His Kingdom of Power. The King and His Kingdom are one. The Lord and
His Church are one. The Bride and Groom are one. These unities are not of
essence, God is creator and all else is create. But these are communions wherein the King
bestows realities.
An Advent reality to meditate upon is that
the Baby on the Christmas cards, represented by the porcelain figure in your
crèche, and by artists on December 24th worship bulletins, is the
same pre-existing, always existing, Second Person: “in the beginning was The Word…and The Word was God…all things were
made by Him…” [John 1] The tiny mewling 8 pound swaddled One, created “ex nihilo” the ground upon which His
Mother sat and the canopy of stars which shone down on the stable.
A proper December-time devotion for all of
you is to reflect upon this King when eating sugar cookies and putting up
decorations far far too early! For this Monarch, this Bread reposing in
feeding manger is His omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent Kingdom in the
flesh. The newborn is also the eternal Alpha
and Omega who rules, yes, in
sovereignty upon quarks, quasars, black holes and distant stars. His Kingdom encompasses sub-atomic universes,
the molten inner-core of earth and the tops of the Himalayas where His angels
scout and sing with final Advent preparations.
But none of that, none of this infinite
realm of power, true creative and sustaining power, matters if the breach is
not repaired; if the rot is not cleansed; if the brokenness is not mended; and
if your sin—the cause of all darkness and dissolution is not atoned for—paid
for. Thus the meek and mild baby, King
of the First Advent, is the Forever King of the final Advent. And even that
is not the true Gospel.
The Good News this Adventide, every Advent
day of your earthly life, is that the King, while sovereign, is merciful and
giving. It isn’t lion but Paschal
Lamb. It isn’t sovereign but suffering
servant! The object of your worship on December 24th and 25th
is the object of your worship as He suffered and died for you on Calvary. “Jesus came, the heavens adoring, came with
peace from realms on high; Jesus came for man’s redemption, lowly came on earth
to die.” [TLH 56.1] He is the object
of your worship as you receive that same Body and Blood at Mass on Sunday. For as beautiful and meaningful as it is to
sing the Magnificat, it is infinitely
more beneficial to receive the object of said canticle. That which magnified
Mary and filled her soul is He that does the same when placed on your tongues
in His most Holy Supper of Salvation. “Enter now my waiting heart, glorious King
and Lord most holy.” [TLH 55.2]
His Kingdom of Power is in the Advent King coming
to you and for you in forgiveness and remission. The Kingdom of Power
placed into you in His powerful—i.e.
His glorified, peaceful, loving Body and living Word.
Yes King David was right and truthful when He spoke of the true Christ
King: “They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and
talk of Thy power.” [Ps. 145.11] But
the Gospel of Advent is neither in the Bethlehem cave or the Golgotha hilltop.
The Gospel is Christ Crucified where He is found for you in Holy + Washing,
Absolution, and Communion. The Kingdom of Power is always in the God/Man’s Body
and Blood. “Come Thou precious Ransom,
come…hail, hosanna, to our King!”[TLH 55.1]
In The Name of The
Father and of The + Son and of The Holy Ghost
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