Crown | Power
The crown is the resurrection power of God. The crown means that Jesus did not stay dead. It means that God is in the business of making dead things alive. It means that Jesus now wears a crown and stands as the supreme king of the entire universe. It means that history is steadily advancing toward a powerful Last Day of resurrection. It means everything will be fully put right under the merciful rule of the crucified and risen One. The crown means victory. The crown means that God wins out.
The gospel as power is thrilling news for those who are oppressed. For those who, as the hymn writer wrote, mourn “‘neath their sorrow’s load.” For people who are neglected and abused by those in positions of power. For those broken and enraged by injustice. For those who are haunted by their own frailty, weakness, and ineffectiveness. For those who yearn for a better world. The crown: God’s power for us.
Invocation
Make the sign of the cross and say,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
The baby in the manger is the King on the throne. Come to him in prayer: King Jesus, who reigns over all things, establish your rule deep in our hearts. Overwhelm all our weakness and frailty so that your power may be evident to all. Supersede all forces and powers that set themselves against you. For you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Word
“He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate…” (Luke 1:51-52)
Meditation
“Those of Humble Estate” by Megan Roegner
When I read the Bible, I am hungry for the voices of women. As a woman in a denomination that does not allow female ordination, I often feel that our discourse surrounding gender roles speaks more about who women are not rather than who we are. I need sisters and mothers to show me the way.
For Mary and Elizabeth, of course, the gender roles were even more clearly defined and much, much narrower. In Mary’s famous song, the Magnificat, she uses her feminine perspective to celebrate how God elevates the humble and humbles the proud. God’s power does not rely on human strength or social position. Rather, God’s power works in ways that our mortal minds struggle to comprehend because true might is not fearful, defensive, or insecure: It has abundant room for mercy.
The words of the Magnificat alone are beautiful. But I also am moved when I think about the relationship between the text, the speaker, and the audience. These prophetic, confident words are spoken by a pregnant, unwed teenager in a time and place that were hostile to people in her situation. Not only that, they were spoken to another woman, one who lived the majority of her adult life childless in a time and place that believed the most essential role of married women was motherhood. Mary and Elizabeth know all about humble estates, but God gives them voices, makes them vessels not just for their incredible babies but for his Word.
And maybe the most beautiful thing about it is that Mary and Elizabeth do not have to be miraculously transformed into anything other than who they are to do the amazing work God has planned for them. They are still women of their time and place; they are mothers, wives, and friends. In these roles, they meet their bewildering circumstances with courage, faith, and joy.
We can’t assess the transformative power of God’s love through human measures of social position and rank. One of my favorite Bible verses in Luke 2:19: “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” God meets us where we are and changes us from the inside out.
Parenthesis
by Megan Roegner
In their stable bed,
Mary curls her body around
her son protectively,
like a parenthesis.
He may be the Incarnate Word,
but she is still his mother.
Stirring, he stretches in
the cat-like way of babies,
and she lifts him onto her chest,
heart to heart.
Outside, stars shine, angels sing,
and shepherds kneel,
but for this moment Mary ponders
(the sweet smell of milk,
the wispy hair brushing her chin,
each miraculous breath)
whether there is any better way
to understand the divine.
Closing Prayer
Lord, give us eyes to see one another as you do. Extend your reign and rule through us. If there is a word you want me to speak, or a service you want me to perform, I’m available. Send me with your gracious power, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.