The King's Entrance

Wonderful.

Well, since he's not here, let me just extend my thanks to Peter,

who worked so hard on that as well behind the scenes.

He would never say that publicly by himself,

but he worked so hard to put that together along with the rest of the team.

How good was that?

Folks, just think this time last year we hadn't even heard the word Zoom.

And there we are.

Let's hope this time next year there's some kind of swear jar Zoom equivalent

that every time we mention it, something goes in the pot.

But let me just take us in for 15, 20 minutes from thinking about that nativity,

just reflecting on some of the things that we've seen.

And let me tell you about a rainy day which happened on a Saturday afternoon

a few weeks ago in our house.

It's the kind of afternoon, I guess, you get them a lot this time of year in Scotland,

where you're going to just accept that you're in for the day.

You know those kind of days?

You're just going to in.

One o'clock in the afternoon, the whole kind of afternoon's ahead of you,

but no, we're going to just stay in.

So we decide we're staying in.

We say to the kids, kids, how about a film?

And they say, we'd love a film.

We say, well, what film would you like?

Knowing that we've got kind of a few days left on Disney+,

hoping that we go for that.

And so they say, well, how about, we'd love to watch Aladdin.

And inside I'm containing myself, thinking, all right, okay,

we can put that on if you like.

But inside, okay, I'm going, yes, Aladdin, right?

My favourite Disney film when I was growing up.

Absolutely loved Aladdin.

So I'm delighted with their choice.

And it comes to the point in the film, which is my favourite scene.

It might be your favourite scene as well, if you've seen it.

It's the one where Aladdin, dressed as Prince Ali,

he's been transformed into Prince Ali,

and he's kind of waltzing up to the palace.

Okay?

And you've got that scene of there's bright colours, there's fanfare,

there's dancing, there's animals,

and it's all to that kind of really catchy song, you know, the one.

And I'm watching this, and I'm thinking to myself,

oh, man, that is what I'd call a king's entrance.

Okay?

If I was a king, if I was going to go for it,

that's how I would enter the stage.

And kind of there is Aladdin with the princess in his mind,

and he's the street boy who's aiming high.

And I guess as I've kind of reflected on that this week, on Aladdin,

reflected on the Christmas story,

it strikes me and it struck me once again

that the entrance of God's king into the world

was profoundly the opposite.

Here's what the Christmas story does.

It invites us to come and encounter the living God

who has his heart set on the lowly.

Okay, here's this man,

this first century doctor-cum-historian called Luke,

which is kind of where the nativity's taken from.

Luke, who has most likely been employed by this man called Theophilus.

You get this right at the start of this gospel.

He's been employed to historically and accurately

look into the things about Jesus,

to authenticate them.

Did these things really happen?

Who is this man?

So that this man, Theophilus, can have,

and the key word in Luke's gospel

is that word certainty that you get right at the top.

Luke's written this account

so that this man and every reader ever since

can have certainty about this man called Jesus.

Okay, and into our world of fake news,

and into our world of fact-checking,

isn't it wonderful to reflect on the fact

that we can,

we have something here that we can trust,

we have something here that we can stake our lives upon,

and that has transformed the lives of countless people

across the world,

down the ages,

as people encounter Jesus,

as they come to encounter God's reliable

and trustworthy word.

The living God,

whose word this is,

and whose heart is set on the lowly.

And we're straight into that in the Christmas story.

I mean, you read it,

and it's almost as if Luke's gone out of his way

to show us that every person

and every character in this story

should surprise us.

Think about what we've just seen.

Okay, think about Elizabeth and Zechariah, right?

Not your young and up-and-coming trendy family,

2.4 children,

living the suburban dream,

you know, the kind you'd expect to see

on an advert for a Jet 2 holiday, right?

That isn't these guys.

They're a couple with pain in their past

and perhaps shame in their present

because they are old

and they have no child.

It's not as if they're bad people,

they're good people.

And the angel appears and says,

what's the first thing?

God has heard your prayer.

What do you think that prayer was?

Right?

Just laying his soul before the Lord.

The pain, the questions of life.

And think about Mary.

She's not the aspiring young professional

living up in the penthouse suite

in the big city, is she?

Up at 6 a.m. for a Zumba class

and straight into work.

She's likely this young teenage girl,

probably with not a lot going for her in life

except that she's in love

with the young village carpenter.

Into the bargain, she's from Nazareth.

People in the Bible, you get it.

I love it.

They make jokes about that place.

Who would come from Nazareth?

What good could come from there?

And that's why, friends,

if you're here today and you're hurting

and you're worried and you're scarred

and your future you think is looking bleak,

what is going to happen,

then I want you to know that you're in good company

because this is the original Christmas cast.

And I have to say,

I love the realism of the Bible.

I love the rawness of the Bible.

You know, a few Fridays ago,

Alex and I were sitting with our newborn

trying to bounce her.

We thought we'd just put something on the telly.

Friday night, we thought we'd just flick through the channels.

What's on?

The One Show.

Okay.

Ever watched The One Show?

Me neither.

Okay.

So we're watching The One Show.

And who's on The One Show?

So this is kind of what got us interested.

There's Robbie Williams.

He's on The One Show

and he's talking about his new Christmas song.

Apparently he's got a new Christmas song out.

Presenter asks him,

Robbie, thinking about your lyrics,

is it fair to say that 2020

hasn't been an enjoyable year for you?

And Robbie's put this song together,

apparently to kind of,

it's kind of given voice to his frustration this year.

And do you know what he said?

He said, I've decided what I'm going to do with 2020

is I'm just going to wipe it out of my memory.

I'm going to pretend that it doesn't exist.

And everyone around the sofas is going,

that's a great idea.

That's a great idea.

But watching it thinking to myself,

if only life was that simple.

Okay.

It's okay to say if you've got a lot of cash in the bank,

a lot of security there, I'm sure.

But if only life were that simple,

we could just wipe out the bits that we didn't like.

My friends, some of us will have scars

and emotional memories from this year

that will stay with us for the rest of our days.

Okay.

And it seems to me that escapism

is not a very good place to go.

And that's why I love the Bible,

because it is real and it is raw.

And it presents us with life as we know it.

Okay.

And it presents us not just with life as we know it.

It presents us with a God

who didn't just look on from a distance.

Sympathetically, you might say,

but no, he didn't look on sympathetically from a distance.

It presents us with a God in the person of Jesus,

God in the flesh,

who entered our lowliness,

who became weak and vulnerable,

who came down into our world of pain and questions.

This is Jesus, God in the flesh.

But back in the story,

Mary's pregnant,

but not because of Joseph,

but because the God who in the beginning

formed life itself from nothing

has caused a life to form in her womb,

which is a sure and certain way of showing us

that the hope that's dawning on the world

that's about to break in

is nothing of man's doing.

It is all of God's doing.

Jesus, the clue's in the name.

His name means God saves.

God saves.

It's not a boat from the blue either.

Mary gets this.

She connects the dots.

She gets that this is God

making good on the promise

that we read right at the start.

We heard read of the nativity,

the promise that he'd made to his people

that one day through them,

centuries before to Abraham,

he was going to act

to bless the peoples of the nations

and save his people.

And this is what makes Mary burst into song.

She understands what's going on here.

And as we cast an eye

over the lyrics of her song,

and if you've got a Bible there,

you might want to check in at this point.

Beginning at verse 46,

Mary's song of praise,

her magnificat,

here's the question

that we need to ask ourselves.

The question surely can't be,

do we have her life?

Because we don't have her life.

We don't know what she was going through.

What we've got is the details we have here.

The question is not,

do we have her life?

The question surely is,

do we share her song?

This God has done great things for me.

Joy has invaded her soul.

Hope has burst into her heart.

And let me just say,

this is what knowing the God of the Bible does.

The constant refrain in the Psalms,

as you read them through,

that at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

That you put more joy in my heart

than when their grain and wine abound.

This God is joy giving.

And here's what she exclaims.

Verse 46,

Notice the threefold repetition of my there.

Okay, this is no kind of generic burst of praise.

This is a deeply personal for Mary.

He's my Savior.

He's my God.

He's making good on his promises for me.

And really quickly,

let me just pick out two things

that make Mary's heart sing

as we see it in her song here.

Here's the first one.

She's singing that her king

is coming with mercy in his eyes.

Do you see it?

Verse 50,

his mercy extends to those who fear him

from generation to generation.

Her king's coming with mercy in his eyes.

That word mercy there,

it's the Lord's compassion,

his love,

his undeserved favor,

his grace.

And this God shows it to those who what?

Acknowledge his existence.

No, he shows it to those who fear him.

Okay, two different things.

God's mercy is for those

who would reorientate their lives

and live them in light of who he is.

And that mercy,

do you see how she reflects

on the fact that it extends?

Okay, it extends.

It keeps on going.

Do you not love an extension?

Right, not talking about a house.

Okay, eat out to help out.

See, when I found out

that was going on for another month,

extended, delighted.

Okay.

This invitation that God makes

to come and experience his mercy

as you come to know Jesus,

it keeps on going

from generation to generation.

So the question we have to ask

is have we entered in

to celebrate his mercy?

There's a constant refrain in the Bible

that thrills the soul of God's people

that this God does not treat us

as our sins deserve.

Rather, he is compassionate

and he is gracious.

He is slow to anger.

He is abounding in love.

And that truth that thrills the souls

of God's people

is reaching its pinnacle right here

in the coming of Jesus.

He's remembered,

sorry, he has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful.

Right?

So God's not some kind of politician

who's made some massive promise

years ago

and then tried to wriggle out

of that promise

before somebody picked them up on it

and then the politician said,

oh, well, I guess I should make good on that.

Mary's saying,

God, you said you'd do this

and you've done it.

You've done it.

You've followed through on your promise.

You've made good on your word.

Friends, do you know what?

I'm discovering more and more

as I go on in the Christian life

that the God of the Bible

is always so much greater

than I think he is.

Mary's singing.

She's rejoicing that her king's coming

with mercy in his eyes

and she's singing secondly and quickly

because her king is coming

with might in his arm.

Do you see that?

Verse 51.

He has performed mighty deeds

with his arm.

He's scattered those

who are proud

in their inmost thoughts.

So she's recalling here

that her God

always has a track record

of getting the victory.

She reflects on it, right?

God saved us

from captivity in Egypt.

He led our ancestors

through the Red Sea

which is the event

that defines

the very nation of Israel.

And she's reflecting

the fact that this God

is at it again.

Right?

An impossible situation.

Nowhere to go.

But somehow

this God

has made a way.

Right?

And this God

has scattered the proud

in the thoughts

of their hearts.

Those who think

that they've made it.

Those who are worshipping

themselves.

Those who are lifting

themselves up.

He'll bring down

the mighty,

this God.

And he'll lift up

the humble.

Okay, of course,

in Mary's world,

the supreme power

of the day

is Rome.

Just reflect on this

for a minute.

It's Rome, right?

Top of the tree

is Caesar.

Now,

never in a million years

would you have conceived

in this day

that 2,000 years later

people's first thought

when they hear

the word Caesar

today

is salad.

Okay,

a few bits of lettuce,

a sprinkling of croutons.

That's what we understand.

The first thing

that we think of

when we hear

the word Caesar.

And yet,

here we are today

and this baby

to be born

to this peasant girl,

not only are we still

talking about him,

but apparently

2.7 million

new people each year.

No idea how

they figure that out

and I'm sure

that figure will be

much higher

because it doesn't

account for the

underground church.

2.7 million

new people each year

choose to follow him

and there are

2.4 billion people

alive today

across the world

who call him

Lord.

Why?

Because of what

the angel said

at verse 33

of his kingdom.

Remember,

this is a

baby yet to be born

who will come

next week,

we'll see,

arrive in the manger

of his kingdom.

There will be

no end.

And I'd say

the proof is in the pudding

of that one.

Here is

a magnificent song,

a heart response

to a quite

incredible bit of news.

Mary is singing

that her king's coming

with mercy in his eyes

and she's singing

that her king

is coming with

might in his arm.

And both of those things

will be so perfectly

embodied

in the child

that Mary will bear,

Jesus.

the king who is

all mercy

and the king

who is

all

might.

And the king

gloriously

who didn't just

look on the lowly,

the God

who

would become

lowly.

God made

low.

you know,

essentially the story

of Aladdin

it ends with,

doesn't it,

the boy born in poverty

becoming the boy

who gets the riches.

That's right,

isn't it?

Street rat,

that's what he calls himself.

Makes it right to the top.

Friends,

the gospel

is all about

Jesus,

the one who knew

all riches,

right?

John 17,

the one who

knew that he had

an experience,

glory

with his father

before the foundation

of the world.

Giving that

up

and becoming

the boy

born

in poverty.

And he would go

even lower

all the way

to the cross

so that in him

we who are

poor

might

become

rich

as we know

the forgiveness

and the loving kindness

of being

right

with our

creator.

And so here's the question

as we leave Mary's song.

Here's the question.

Not do we have

her life

but as we come

into another advent

and maybe even

for the first time

this morning

asking yourself

do you share

her song?

My soul

glorifies

the Lord

and my spirit

rejoices

in God

my saviour

for he has done

great

things

for me.

Let's pray.

And maybe

let's just use

this moment

just to reflect

on some of the

things that we've

thought about.

This God

he has done

wonderful things

for me.

And so

heavenly father

we worship you

this morning

for who you are

the God

of all grace.

And thank you

for advent

and being able

to celebrate

and having our own

language

and be able to read

the account

of the arrival

of your king

your son

Jesus

into the world.

and so father

I pray for

for some of us

here today

who perhaps

don't know you

perhaps who

maybe the fire

in their heart

that was once

there

the joy

of knowing

you

is no longer

there.

Father I pray

that this Christmas

we would recapture

something

of the heart

of Mary's song

here

that my soul

greatly rejoices

in the Lord

because he

has done

great things

for me.

Father thank you

that you hear us

and we pray

these things

in Jesus'

precious name.

Amen.