Dec 3rd - King of Kings and Lord of Lords

 As Im writing this Im listening to Handel's Messiah.  The Hallelujah Chorus. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI6dsMeABpU

I can remember when I was in the sixth form at school  ( which was so many decades ago I think it actually counts as history)  a chap came to speak to us about Handel and his life and work.  He played us some of the Messiah and I remember being enthralled by it.  Im sure I must have heard at least parts of it before, but there was something about learning about the composer and why he wrote the work  which brought it alive to me.  I remember asking why the words repeat the same thing over and over again .   ' And He shall reign forever and ever.  For ever and ever.  Hallelujah, hallelujah.  And He shall reign forever and ever.'   And the speaker talked about the way Handel wanted to emphasise the truth of scripture and make the thing memorable and easy to sing. For some reason the whole episode has stayed with me all these years.

This week we saw Harry and Megan get engaged.  I dont know about you but I was really delighted by that news.   I think Harry is a lovely bloke and I have alot of time for him and for William and Kate.  The three of them seem to be well adjusted, caring, hard- working, normal people who have managed to subtly shift the royal family into the 21st century without losing the respect of the public for the institution.  Megan comes across as a bright . articulate, hard working woman who will probably fit in well - she is clearly media savvy which has got to be an advantage.  I really hope that they will be happy together.   

It was funny listening to Megan as she explained that as an American she really didn't know too much about the royal family or what being a Prince entailed.   Growing up in the UK , regardless of what you might think of them, you grow up knowing about royalty.   We have an understanding of what a Queen does.  The role of a consort.  The issues surrounding duty and heredity and succession.   It's just all there in the background of our lives - a part of our long history, a constant in the media.  I think it gives us an advantage when it comes to being able to relate to Jesus as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 

Reigning is about having authority, exercising power, being a figurehead and ensuring stability.  It is a matter of duty and responsibility and being highly visible.  It is also about time - when we speak about the reign of Elizabeth ll we are not only speaking of her job, but about a period of the history of our nation when she has been on the throne.  She has reigned for sixty years and done a great job. But sometime soon she will hand over the job to Charles and everything will change.    Jesus, on the other hand, will reign forever - of His government and of peace there shall be no end.  He is good and just and kind and righteous.  Every decision He makes is made in full possession of every fact there is to know.  His motivation is love.  He never slumbers or sleeps.  He has utterly destroyed our great enemy and has prepared a place for us to live with Him eternally.

I'm not surprised that Handel wanted to say ' Hallelujah!' a few hundred times  😊