Unwrapping the Names of the Messiah:
Mighty God
Micah 5:2-5a and Luke 1:46-55
Fourth Sunday of Advent (Love)
December 22, 2024
Today, we look at our last royal title given to the Messiah in Isaiah, “Mighty God.”
This, to me, seems like a “slam dunk” title, as it is all encompassing of the greatness of all the things that we have discussed over the last three Sundays, hope, peace, joy. Our Mighty God is capable of all of these and is both sent in love and shows the love we will discuss further.
As pointed out in Micah, the Mighty God will be the ruler of Bethlehem, will feed his flock, find strength in the Lord, and shall be great to the ends of the earth. Indeed he is so great that he is capable of peace, the only true peace we can know. An eternal peace that comes from within, not a temporary peace that is experienced from powers here on earth.
Our Mighty God has a divine power that is not exhibited in other kings and rulers, and we find the gift of blessing is not in the power of a king, but rather in the hand of God who alone can do wondrous things.
When we consider the word “mighty,” we might think of bravery and boldness as associated with a military; however, Jesus won over death by divine power.
Jesus, as the Mighty God, carries a divine power that is from a kingdom not of this world, as he proclaimed in the Gospel of John.
Our Mighty God exercises powers that re-enforces love, and refuses behaviors that coerce and exploit, powers that teach hate and oppression.
Walter Brueggemann says there are two episodes in Jesus’ ministry that give us access to the mighty power of God.
The first is in the Gospel of Mark when Jesus is confronted by the man with an unclean spirit. The interaction is between Jesus and the spirit. It is the unclean spirit communicating with God that calls him the Holy One of God, and it is Jesus, our Mighty God, that silences the unclean spirit and calls for it to come out of the man.
The second incident, also in the Gospel of Mark, is the storm at sea when Jesus commands the storm: “Peace! Be still!
In both instances, Jesus is showing a divine and mighty power that reduces chaos and the power of death in order to restore peace.
Through the love of our Mighty God, we have a divine presence, or as Brueggemann refers to him, a “divine hero” who forgives, who heals, who redeems, and who brings joy and peace.
While this divinity is indeed not from this world, Jesus invited the disciples, and us today, to participate in transformative acts. He commissioned his disciples to cure the sick. He tells them (Acts 1:8), “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The disciples were eye witnesses of the “Mighty God” we can only know through faith and the Holy Spirit.
What greater love can we have than to have God send Jesus so that others could be eye witnesses to such a love that is passed down in stories from generation to generation so that we are able to share the good news of the promise of a “Mighty God?”
In our Luke scripture, Mary is restating a prophesy that was to come as reported and told to her in stories handed down from generation to generation, while at the same time prophesying to what was to come by the power of the Holy One she will give birth to.
The fourth candle of Advent reminds us that God demonstrated His love by sending His Son Jesus to be born in a manger and suffer and die for our sins, so we may live forever with Him.
Mary humbly takes on her role as servant, and she recognizes the divine, and speaks of it when she says, “My SOUL magnifies the Lord, and my SPIRIT rejoices in God my savior.”
She does not say “I” magnify the Lord, rather it was her very SOUL, something beyond human.
She in human form didn’t rejoice, her divine SPIRIT rejoiced.
It was the divine power within her that had the ability to magnify her Lord and rejoice.
In her book, “Unwrapping the Names of Jesus,” Asheritah Ciuciu (Ash-u-rit-ah Cisyou) writes in her chapter on Immanuel (God With Us) the following referring to this scripture in Matthew:
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, (which means God with us.”)
‘This verse is the first of forty-three Messianic quotes from the Old Testament that Matthew included in his gospel narrative. By linking Jesus’ life to the Old Testament promises, Matthew demonstrates that Jesus’ birth and life fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, to show God’s provision for His people and His faithfulness in following through.
Jesus’ birth and life physically manifest a spiritual reality: God wants to be with His people. He created humans with this relationship in mind, breathing His own life into us, creating us in His own image, and placing within us souls so we may commune with Him.
In the garden of Eden, God’s presence was very real to Adam and Eve as He walked with them in the cool of the evening. Although Adam’s and Eve’s sin separated them from God, He was never far from his people. When He led the Israelites out of Egypt, He went before them in a pillar of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. His glory was visible in a cloud covering Mount Sinai, the tabernacle, and the temple as a manifestation of His presence.
Throughout history, God has demonstrated His longing to be close to His people. Sin has marred our relationship with Him, but Jesus’ embodiment shows God’s commitment to dwell with His people.
This is mind-blowing when you think about it: God Himself set aside His brilliance, took on human form, and became one of us. He walked among us, ate, laughed, cried, slept, and felt tired, angry, happy. He, the Creator of the world, became as one of the created, because He longs to be with us. And He was willing to do whatever it took, even setting aside His glory, humbling Himself to the point of death —on a cross— just to be with us forever. Amazing love!’
When we think of this amazing love, there is no other position to take other than humility and gratitude.
It is so easy to get caught up in our everyday lives that we forget that we were loved so much that a “divine hero” would be sent to walk this lowly earth among messy people and die in the presence of ungrateful humanity. With all our flaws, we are still loved so much.
Today, in your everyday activities, whether you have last minute Christmas shopping to do, an early Christmas with family, or baking to get done. I invite you to take a moment and remember that you are loved. Take a moment to just be in God’s presence, because our God desires to dwell with you.
Remember the candle we lit today for love, and know you are loved by a Mighty God that has come, is coming, and will come again.
To God be the glory!