August 19th, 2007

The Power of Decree

Read Luke 2:1-7

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree..." vs. 1

There is great power inherent in the ability to issue a decree. A decree is not something of the common man. A decree is the demand of the king, the power to move others in accordance with the will of leader. To issue a decree is to demand to be recognized and obeyed as the authority over all of life's affairs. Decrees give no consideration to convenience or opinion...they simply redefine reality on the whim of the Imperial structure.

In Nazareth, Joseph and Mary were busy making preparations for the birth of their new born child. They had just finished decorating the nursery with the latest Noah's Ark wall paper border and stuffed animals. :) Soon they would graduate from their childbirth classes where they had studied the fine art of Lamaze. Life had a certain flow as they awaited the arrival of God's special gift.

But in the midst of that flow there was a disruption. In a flash they were reminded that their lives weren't really theirs. They belonged to the Empire. Certainly they had been given space to live rather normally, until based on the tyrannical needs and economic desires of the Powers that Be, they decreed (demanded) that Mary and Joseph leave behind their plans and make the long journey to be registered as a number, issued their tax bracket, and redefined as rather expendable component of the authoritative machine. Just like that the decreed at upended their lives. That is the power of an empire, to provide the illusion of freedom and normalcy, yet in a moment disrupt lives, turn people into numbers, and define humanity by their earning capacity...all in the name of the endurance of the Kingdom.

Yet in this story something occurs that subverts even the greatest attempts of the Empire to dominate its citizen's existence. A very different kind of decree is issued. From the throne room of a much different kingdom there comes the decree that today a new king should be born. Right under the nose of the tyrannical system comes a coup de tat...They had been overthrown but uninformed. They still exercised the power, yet lived an illusion. This decree would be of a much different sort. Where the first was issued to dominate, the second was issued to bring freedom. While the first turned people into numbers, the second extended to them dignity. As the first defined people by their earning capacity, the second defined them by their proximity to God.

The emperor of Rome had issued a decree, upended lives, and stolen hope from his people. God issued a decree, upended lives, and gave to the people His only begotten Son in order that they might experience a hope that trancends the power of any temporal regime. It is a hope based on the coming of a True King, one who exercises the authority of a King of kings, and Lord of lords. Through Joseph and Mary a revolution was born. The Empire had been undercut by the power of God. Yet, noone had remembered to tell them...at least not yet. Let us as we make our way throughout Luke follow this revolution.