THRONE OF DAVID, HOUSE OF JACOB, KINGDOM ETERNAL

Sermon delivered on the Fourth Sunday in Advent the 18^th December 2011 by Fr Nicholas JG Sykes in the congregation of St. Alban's Church of England, George Town, Cayman Islands.

Scriptures: 2 Sam 7: 1-11, 16 Romans 16:25-27 S. Luke 1:26-38

S. Luke 1:32f The words of the angel Gabriel: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there will be no end."

In the account in S. Luke of the Annunciation (or announcement) of the Birth of Christ to the Virgin Mary there is much to ponder: for instance S. Luke’s explicit identification of the angel of the Annunciation as Gabriel; and the trustful and submissive attitude of Mary to Gabriel’s words on the basis of her being, as she herself avowed, "the handmaid of the Lord". The other Scripture lessons today seem to point us, also, to attend closely to some of the angel’s astonishing words themselves. It seems clear that if Herod had heard the words, he would have regarded them with enormous concern: for the angel’s words suggested that if Herod purported to occupy the rightful throne over the Jewish people, he was going to have to contend with a much truer and deeper claim for it than his was. For now the Coming One, the Son of the Most High, was being referred to as being able to claim David as his ancestor: Herod could not ever do that. Then there were all those references in the Scriptures to the indestructibility of the throne of David, and about this Coming One it was being said that of His Kingdom there would be no end. The angel’s words also meant that in this Coming One the ancient division of Israel into the divided kingdoms of north and south would be ended: for He would reign not just over the house of David or the house of Judah, but over the house of Jacob, and not just for a time, but for ever. So we can say that if the terms of the Angel Gabriel's proclamation had got out, and over the following months reached the ears of this jealous king, it wouldn't be just what the wise men from the east told him that occasioned his fury and the assassination of the infant boys of Bethlehem.

How, indeed, are the astonishing words of the angelic announcement fulfilled? The Old Testament Lesson seems to invite us to recognise that though David's son Solomon built the house of the Lord, the truer "House" that God was establishing would be the responsibility of a truer son than Solomon was. Now the commentaries tell us that we can identify several separate shades of meaning in the word for “house” that is used in this chapter, chapter 7 of 2 Samuel. King David started by considering his own house, which we could say was a palace because he was a king. From this starting point he moves on to consider a house of God, which is a temple rather than a house in the ordinary sense. From this level of “house” as temple or house of God, however, the thought shifts to the “house” that God promises to establish for David and his descendants, and this can be referred to as a “dynasty”. The short New Testament Lesson from S. Paul's epistle to the Romans reminds us of S. Paul's perspective that through Jesus Christ the nations of the world were fellow-heirs of the spiritual riches of Israel. Paul says that the “mystery” that was kept secret for long ages has now been disclosed and made known to all nations. The truer "House" that God was now establishing would be a house of prayer for all nations, not for the descendants of Jacob only, and the throne of David too would through Jesus Christ be an everlasting throne over all the world. So Herod need not have jumped to the conclusions he did. The King of the Jews that the wise men from the east had talked to Herod about had no need to compete with him for his palace. Later it was said that a sword would pierce the heart of Jesus' mother; and she was to learn that to build the eternal House of prayer for all nations and to occupy or give allegiance to such a throne as her son was called to, would involve for Him and all who loved Him a passion, a death, and a rising again. There is not one of us here too, that is named by Christ in Baptism and continues to walk in His name, that will be untouched by the mighty call of that House and that throne, and that will be unmarked by the sword that pierced the soul of His mother.

From time to time I have occasion to go to the public counters of places such as the Registry Office, the Planning Department and the Lands and Survey Department, and the atmosphere in those places tells you that important things are going on. Conversations go on often in hushed tones between those being helped and the counter personnel, there is the need to get things exactly right, the i’s are to be dotted and the t’s crossed, and if everything has been submitted correctly, the business is sealed with the handing over of a substantial sum of money. The atmosphere seems to let you know that to hand over a sum of money is more a privilege than an imposition, because then your business will have been secured. The Cayman Islands are not the only place where property matters are considered to be important, of course. It has long been said that the Englishman’s home is his castle, and a property-owning democracy is a longstanding British social ideal. When they are property owners, people possess a measure of security that is denied to the landless. But the biblical and Christian models go beyond this. A man’s true castle is more and other than this sort of property. His real castle is breached not by misfortune or somebody’s chicanery that may take away his home, but by the loss of his character, his ideals, his faith or his soul.

I do not doubt that property has some importance for every one of us here today. While we should have a right regard and enjoyment of it, there should not be an inordinate desire or fixation upon it. In the last Sunday of Advent and moving into the Christmas season, however, we are invited to reflect, first, that to the place where we might ultimately take our character, our ideals, our faith and our souls, none of us can take any of his physical property. In a sense, we might take with us what we have given away to others, and we might take with us whatever we may have stamped upon the world; but what we have selfishly kept for ourselves, must be stripped from us. I have heard of deceased people being given solemn burials in their motor-cars; still it was the empty shell of his body that was buried with the car, and not the real person. The real person arrived or would arrive where he was going without the vehicle. In My Father’s House, says Jesus, are many rooms, many mansions.

“He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there will be no end.” The Christ who was announced by the angel Gabriel to the trustful and obedient Mother invites us all to His House, His castle. His call is a mighty one. The sword that accompanies it may at times be sharp, but this King’s House is the most beautiful and social and joyful and lasting of all.