Come Thou King of Nations

O Come Thou King of nations bring; An end to all our suffering; Bid every pain and sorrow cease; And reign now as our Prince of Peace

Advent season comes to it’s crescendo tonight where historically Christians remember the arrival of our Lord, Savior, and King Jesus Christ.

And, It’s a conflicted night for most of us. For there are expectations on many of us even right now of meals to serve, family to welcome, perhaps last minute gifts to wrap. What’s gonna happen when my kid has a candle here in a little bit.

Some of us hold a night like tonight in tension with pain and sorrow. Loved ones who are now gone, either in death, or distance. Others feel the pull of the finances - seeking to hold a magical moment with their kids, and seeing the bank account dwindle.

But believers know and hold that the arrival of Jesus some two thousand years ago is one of the most pivotal events in all history. And so there is a holy reverence and awe as we come into this space.

It’s so interesting when you consider what it looks like to be born at such a fraught time. And it can be interesting in our own time to consider what it looks like for Christ to arrive and be born. I think of a poem I read earlier, entitled the risk of birth. Let me read it for you:

This is no time for a child to be born. With the earth betrayed by war and hate And a nova lighting the sky to warn That time runs out and the sun burns late.

That was no time for a child to be born. In a land in the crushing grip of Rome; Honor and truth were trampled by scorn – Yet here did the Saviour make his home.

When is the time for love to be born? The inn is full on the planet earth, And by greed and pride the sky is torn – Yet Love still takes the risk of birth

Love still takes the risk of Birth. I love that.

So With that all in mind, I would just invite you to bring all of you into this space, for just a few moments think not of the supper in the oven and the gifts, and be here - and to consider Jesus our King. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

We confess and believe that Jesus is Lord, that he came God in Flesh, showed us how to live and love, and ultimately did what none of us could - died an atoning death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

And ultimately, Christmas is part of the spiritual war. Jesus the king who comes to rescue the enslaved ones from sin, satan, and death. And there has always been conflict around it. I think of Matthew 2, and we see earthly kings and their response:

Matthew 2:1–12 (CSB)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”

Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”

After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

Herods great plan was to kill this baby - in order to snuff out a new king. I’m sure Satan would have loved that too.

Little did the enemy know, that Jesus would indeed die, even a criminals death on a cross, and it was through that pain and suffering that Love would triumph and the enemy would be defeated.

Jesus is our King, and he is coming back to save and rule the nations. And the enemy writhes in vain and falsely claims territory for his own. But at the cross, sin was defeated.

When we come to Christmas, we can’t just think of the sweet and tender baby, who for some reason songs say never cried - I’m 100% positive that JEsus cried as a baby. It’s not just about the gifts and the good food. You know this.

It’s about Christ, and his all sufficient sacrifice. This God, the ultimate and supreme and infinite would come and inhabit amongst and Jesus would die for us because his great love for us.

So that we can be unified with him. have no fear of hell, or death, and ultimately we celebrate advent with anticipation of his second arrival - his next advent in which all pain, and sorrow, and grief and death will all be no more. And we who are in Christ will dwell with him in the new earth forever more.

All of that was won for us by JEsus sacrifice. And his salvific mission was started as a little child. A child who was born to be a sacrfice. Oh the great love of Jesus. This little babe who is a king who would lay down his life for us.

And so all I want for us today, is to marvel, worship, and thank Jesus. To remember that he came to free us.

Make no mistake - God knew that while JEsus was being born and swaddled and wrapped - all of it was ultimatley in preperation for his ultimate death.

So we celebrate his birth, because a new king and a new kingdom, with new rules, and a new order in now in.

And we remember that through communion. The Lords supper

*take the elements out of the manger.*