We were a little lower in number than usual on Sunday morning for various reasons. There were few Iranians around. However, in the evening seven came who hadn't been able to make it in the morning so that was encouraging. I preached from Hebrews 1:4 in the morning and Philippians 2:6, 7 in the evening, the last of our Christmas messages for this year. It was a good day.
I began both sermons (unusually) with stories:
Her majesty incognito
Following
the death of the late queen I remember there were several stories
emphasising her sense of humour. One was about how one summer when
she was in Balmoral, she was
walking around the estate with her longtime protection officer,
Richard Griffin, when they encountered a group of American tourists.
The tourists stopped to chat with her and, not recognising the Queen
- who was dressed casually with a headscarf and coat - they asked if
she lived in the area. Queen Elizabeth, ever witty and good-natured,
replied that she did live nearby. The tourists went on to ask if she
had ever met the Queen. Without missing a beat, she pointed at
Richard Griffin and said, “No, but he has!” The tourists were
delighted and, believing they were speaking with just a local
resident and her friend, asked for a photograph with Richard Griffin.
The Queen happily took the photo for them, still maintaining the
disguise.
It also illustrates how we can miss things. You think you are talking
to an ordinary local resident - no, you are talking to the Queen
herself. You think it is just a baby I a manger – no, it is the
King of the Universe himself.
Cincinnatus
Have
you heard of the American city of Cincinnati in Ohio? It is named
after a character in early Roman history. Cincinnatus
lived in the
5th century BC, during the early Roman Republic. In his time Rome
faced a military crisis when it was attacked by neighbouring tribes.
The Senate appointed Lucius
Quinctius Cincinnatus
as dictator
– a position
that gave him absolute authority - to lead the defence of the city.
When the Senate sent messengers to find him, they found him
ploughing
his field.
He'd
been living a simple life as a farmer, having retired from public
office. He
left his farm, however, accepting the role of dictator, and quickly
organised an army. Under him,
the Romans defeated their enemy and order was restored. Now the
interesting thing is what happened next. After achieving victory,
instead of holding onto his absolute power (as many do), Cincinnatus
resigned.
It was
just 16
days
after
being appointed. He returned to his simple life on the farm. This was
extraordinary as the dictatorship would have allowed him to rule
unopposed for six months but he voluntarily stepped away as soon as
the crisis was over. He has became a symbol of civic
virtue, one who
placed
the interests of the state above his own. More than that he showed
real humility.
Despite
holding immense power, he chose to return to a modest life. He was
selfless
and accepted
power not for personal gain but for the good of Rome. His
story subsequent generations. George Washington, for example, was
compared to him when he relinquished power after the American
Revolutionary War and returned to his farm at Mount Vernon before
being made president. Cincinnatus is a timeless example of a leader
who wielded power responsibly refusing to exploit it for personal
ambition. More than that he points us to some extent to what the Lord
Jesus Christ himself did in humbly taking human flesh and living and
dying for the sake of sinners.
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