Today we set up our Christmas decorations, tree and Mandy's little nativity set. I looked at the nativity set with fresh eyes as we are looking at these characters in the Gathering. When we look at a typical Nativity set, the people we see are the least likely people to be involved in a King's birth. Poor, dirty Shepherds; Pagan, Gentile Magi, a poor, young, unmarried pregnant girl from a dumpy small town, etc. And I was reminded of the abundance of Grace seen even in the birth narrative (not to mention Jesus' geneology). This was the birth of the King and the birth of a Kingdom with completely different values, priorities and expectations than the culture. Even in Jesus' birth we see the upside down and countercultural Kingdom that He came to establish. After the message, Jim Echels (our church's worship leader and the Gathering drummer) sent me the lyrics to "So Long, Moses" by Andrew Peterson. I thought they were beautiful.
"Will he be a king on a throne
Full of power with a sword in his fist
Prophet, tell us, will there be another king like this
Full of wisdom, full of strength
The hearts of the people are his
Prophet tell us, will there be another king like this
And Isaiah said:He'll bear no beauty or glory, rejected despised
A man of such sorrow, we'll cover our eyes
He'll take up our sickness, carry our tears
For His people, He will be pierced
He'll be crushed for our evils, our punishment feel
By His wounds, we will be healed, we will be healed"
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