And then there is this piece from the Gospel Lesson:
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." [Luke 1:32-33]
The Gospel lesson refers back to the reign of King David. The Messiah will restore the glory of David. What does this mean? Isn't it interesting that the lesson from II Samuel has God reminding David of his humble origins. God reminds David that David is not a "self-made man," but owes his wealth and fame to God (as all with any wealth and fame do). The texts play up the tensions between wealth and poverty, kingly pride and humble circumstances.
Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you." But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" [II Samuel 7:1-7]
This passage seems full of irony. God challenges David's assumptions about the appropriateness of building a temple, a house for God. God is the God of a nomadic people, living in tents. God is not the God of the people who live in palaces--or, at least, God is not about to be confined in a fancy house provided by this wealthy, royal benefactor.
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