The Gift-King
The Gift-King
A king that is for you.
The King that you've been waiting for, you're going to find him here… in a manger?
Transcript:
Welcome to the Light of Christ weekly podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at lightofchristgeorgetown.org.
Our sermon soundbite today comes from Luke chapter two beginning at verse eight. "And in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord, and this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.""
But what is the sign that the angels give? That the angel gives to the shepherds? What is the sign by which they will know that this is the King? Verse 12 says, "And this will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths," and that's just normal baby clothing, "And lying in a manger." What?
Imagine me telling you that the richest man in the world was coming to Georgetown. So we went down to the square to meet him there and up pulls a 1985 Toyota Camry that's rusted out, the paint is peeling, and out steps this man. Would you believe me? There's this seemingly contradiction, contra-position, this contrast between what I'm saying and what the arrival of this richest man is like, and so it is here the King that you've been waiting for, you're going to find him here in a manger?
The point that Luke is making, obviously as we read through the gospel, is that the coming of the promised King, the way he came was absolutely unexciting. Unimpressive. No pump. No circumstance. The baby is born, no complications. There isn't room, anywhere. So why? Why this contrast?
Because this is a different type of King. The key is in verse 11 when the angel speaks to the shepherds, he says, "For unto you," notice that, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior. Who is Christ the Lord." Why? Because this King is not like other Kings, people with authority and power in this world. What do they do? They tend to accumulate more power. They tend to accumulate wealth for themselves, especially Caesar Augustus, who we read about in the very first verse of chapter two what is he doing? He's taxing the people so he can conquer and get more power for himself and more money and more riches. But this King is not for himself. This King is for you.
He is a King unto you, a King for you. Who although he is rich, became poor. Although he has all, became nothing for us. A King who takes all that he has and will pour it out for you. He is a Gift-King. A Gift-King.
Isaiah chapter nine verse six the prophet says it beautifully, "For to us a child is born. To us as son is given. He is a gift. He's been given to us." This is the gift of Christmas, freely given, not owed to those who have been nice instead of naughty, but a free gift given to all of us and received by, especially those that know they're sinners. Those like the shepherds that the angels come to at night.
Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ weekly podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from the book of Common Prayer. This prayer can be found on page 601.
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
