A royal baby
So, the Duchess of Cambridge is having a baby! Has anyone missed that news? And isn’t it brilliant news? One can only feel sorry that she is feeling so unwell, and that every twist and turn of her pregnancy will be played out in the full gaze of the media.
I found myself playing ‘spot the difference’ between this royal birth and the one we will be celebrating on Christmas Day. First, there is a difference in publicity. Everyone knows that Kate is pregnant; hardly anybody knew, or was even interested in knowing, that Mary was. Second, there is a difference in popularity. Does anyone wish Kate or her child ill? Perhaps someone does. But there will be no Herod, who tried very hard to kill Mary’s child. Third, there is a difference in grandeur. Will anything be spared in giving Kate and her baby the very best – and rightly so? And what did Mary get? A long journey when heavily pregnant (and no chauffeur), no room of her own (let alone a private hospital), an animal feeding trough for her baby. But, fourth, there is a difference in longevity. Who will be celebrating, or even remembering, the Duchess’ baby a hundred years from now? Yet billions around the world still celebrate the birth of king Jesus, and two thousand years have already passed. Fifth, there is a difference in glory. Kate’s child will be third in line to the throne – of what? Not all that much, really! How different is king Jesus, who will have all things put under his feet – “things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Col 1:16). What other differences can you spot?