december twenty-first

King

God is the king above all kings,
and the prophet Samuel is reluctant
to anoint a king for the Israelites
as this will seem like a rejection of God's rule.
Pilate asks Jesus if he is a king;
Jesus answers indirectly,
because his kingship does not accord
with the expectations of the Romans,
the Jewish authorities,
or even his followers.

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Micah 5:2 NIV

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 KJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:1-5 NIV