The Baby in the Manger #1: Lord

As a family we have embarked on a second year of our new tradition - to light an advent candle each day through advent, with a 'name for Jesus' for each day.  I must admit I'm getting rather into this 'names' motif.  Just last week I was one of a group inviting children to look in the 'manger' and pick out a stone with of the Biblical descriptions of written on it.  At Christmas we tend to look to the manger - to that tiny baby.  How mind-blowing, then, when consider all that that manger contained?  So, to day one on my advent candle...

Lord

...if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord... (1 Peter 3:15)



'Lord' can become but a throwaway filler word that intersperses our prayers, because in a culture that rarely places human beings on such high pedestals, we barely use the word for anything else (by contrast, many of the Greek and Hebrew words translated as 'Lord' (not LORD) were words used to describe someone in authority, such as a master, ruler, or even a husband!). Take, for example, Strong's definition of the Greek word kýrios - which is the word translated as Lord in the verses above.

from kŷros (supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by implication, Master (as a respectful title):—God, Lord, master, Sir.

I wonder how much we judge the authority and Lordship of Jesus against others in authority over our lives?  If I was in the midst of a crime scene and the police turned up, I'd probably feel relieved and comforted.  Here is authority to take charge, and I would probably happily submit to their instructions.  I realise, of course, that my own privilege is at work here - I'm unlikely to detained unfairly because of my race, sex or background.  Human figures of authority are often sadly lacking because a) their power is limited, and/or b) their use of what power they do have is morally corrupt.

The baby the manger was the greatest authority that there ever was:

1) He has authority over all everything.   "Even the wind and waves obey him!" the disciples declared when Jesus their friend and teacher calmed the storm (Matthew 8:27).  They had seen nothing yet!  Power and authority go hand in hand, and Jesus has power and authority over everything on this earth.  He says to his disciples before he leaves them: all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  

2) Saving faith acknowledges that he has authority over our lives.  Many think this might be the unfashionable bit about the gospel.  Maybe it is?  There is certainly a human temptation to focus only on the love and humility of Jesus, to seek to emulate it (which we should rightly do), but to reject his authority over our lives.  Is Jesus someone we call upon for our own benefit and comfort, or someone to whom we submit our whole lives, our desires, and our hopes?

Much as my rebellious heart often does not want to submit my life, desires and hopes to Christ (because it does not want to submit to anyone!), this is far outweighed by the comfort that is brought by knowing that Jesus is Lord.  When the world's problems seem like there's no solution and Satan is winning, Jesus is Lord.  When a young life is taken apparently meaninglessly and pointlessly, Jesus is Lord.  When I wonder who could possibly redeem this broken sinner: Jesus is Lord.  If I cannot love myself nor forgive my own sins, Jesus is Lord, and says: I delight in you. 

Human figures of authority are usually given power and authority by the society in which they function (which is why that authority is flawed).  Not so with Jesus:

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
(Philippians 2:9-11)

This authority is not dependent on our faith, on our success at making disciples and building his church, or on Jesus' popularity in the polls.  He proved it when he calmed the storm, fed the crowds, raised the dead, and even defeated death itself.

As we start to paint more of a portrait of Jesus, we see more of this person who has been given the greatest authority - and it's a comfort.  Can we lay aside our pride to confess that he is Lord?