Thoughts for the Day

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will name him Jesus. 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 ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

(Church of Wales lectionary, from New Revised Standard version)

Thoughts

On the fourth Sunday of Advent we usually think of Mary*, the mother of Jesus, and for many of us it's also the day of the Carol Service, but today we look at another title for the Messiah. The fourth title for Jesus, from the 'O Antiphons' is 'O Key of David'.

A key is the symbol for power and authority, indicating that it is Jesus who opens the gates of heaven for all who turn to Him in repentance. It is He who can break down the prison walls of darkness and death for us, and lead us to freedom. Without His death and resurrection there would be no forgiveness of sins.

From Isaiah, Chapter 9, verse 7, we find this prophecy about the Messiah:

'His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.'

All too often we may believe that the light of Christ is in our world, yet we are held prisoner by our sins both great and small. However, Christ offers us the gift of reconciliation, if we will accept it.

O Wisdom,
O Lord,
O root of Jesse,
O key of David,
creator of the world
and ruler of Your people,
we remember that You
came to live among us
as a baby,
in order to offer us eternal life.
Amen.