1.
Preparation
for a King.
It was an unusual beginning for a
king-
His mother pregnant before marriage,
Her betrothed, His future stepfather,
Bewildered, uncertain, knowing the
child
Was not his but not knowing what to
do.
It was an unusual infancy for a king-
His birth in a stable, a hurried
flight
As a refugee to neighbouring Egypt,
His guardian and mother living there
as outsiders,
Aliens with an alien tongue in an
alien land.
It was an unusual place for a king-
A childhood in a quiet, lowly village,
With all the close awareness of struggles,
The day-to-day immediacy, the earthiness,
The friendships, the caring and
sharing.
It was an unusual home for a king-
A simple, modest, ordinary house,
Four half-brothers, some sisters too,
The rough and tumble of family life,
With all its closeness, conflict and
intimacy.
It was an unusual discipline for a
king-
In His child’s mind were great
questions
For which He sought answers in His
Father’s House,
But He saw His mother’s confusion, his
step-father’s anxiety
And to them both He submitted in
patient obedience.
For a King’s preparation it was
unusual-
No luxury, no finery, no exclusive tutors,
No servants, no sense of privilege or
right,
No-one to order, little chance for ego
to swell,
A quiet, contemplative preparation,
Ideal for growth in humility and
giving,
For empathy and compassion to
flourish,
For fostering deep understanding of
the heart,
For identification with ordinary
people,
For developing sympathy with the
outcasts,
The poor, lame, blind, deaf, dumb,
The sad and lonely lepers, the
suffering,
The sick, the widows, the orphans
And the poor, oppressed and abused
harlots.
Later, when He left His home, many of
them saw Him,
Recognised His greatness and responded
in love.
To them he opened His heart and to them,
His people most obviously in need,
He touched, healed, blessed and loved.
Yes, unusual preparation for a king,
But for this man, the greatest of men,
This poet, this story teller, this
scholar,
This miracle worker, this great
teacher,
This radical and innovative thinker,
This challenger of the status quo,
This exposer of folly, pretence and
hypocrisy,
This future King of the world, this Son
of God,
This loving, gentle, compassionate
man of sympathetic tears,
It was perfectly designed, closely
fitted and exactly right.
