Magi came asking,
“Where is the child who has been born king?”
When King Herod heard this, he was frightened.
—from Matthew 2.1-3
As he should be.
Jesus is a threat to any regime.
His empire is grace; his rule is justice; his power is love.
It unseats tyrants.
But before he changes the world he changes us.
We become his subjects,
forsaking all the empires of this world.
Like the magi, we spurn domination.
We kneel, surrender our willfulness,
let go our fears and desires,
and abandon ourselves to him.
We give him power over us—
and he gives us his power through us—
so our will is not to exert power
but to allow grace to happen.
The homage of the magi
is the fiercest kind of loyalty and courage
Herod can’t stand, and can’t withstand:
to submit to the power of love and grace,
and not to any empire.
Let this be your pledge of allegiance.
Grace reigns.
Kneel and allow.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldilight.net
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