“He has raised up a mighty savior, born of the house of his servant David” (Luke 1: 69)A At what cost did our Lord pay for our salvation? It was a total surrender to the Father’s will. There was no way around it, and through it all salvation history was changed forever. The term for Jesus as “mighty savior” means Jesus’self-will was unrelenting and love unsurpassable. In the course of one’s lifetime, we at some point or another will come to the realization of what “mighty savior” means to us. For some, it may mean abandoning a bad habit or some kind of addiction, for another it may mean to sacrifice one’s very life for the sake of justice. Sometimes, it may be one moment in time when a “light bulb” goes off and the decision is made to give up all to follow Jesus. In the case of the first reading from the prophet Ezekial, the kingdom of Jesus is met in the midst of ridicule, abuse or persecution. By grace, Jesus clings to us and sets the fire within us. Jesus summed this interaction up in the words of the Beatitudes, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. (Matthew 5:10) “Alleluia! Alleluia!, Praise the everlasting King!” (last line of first verse of the hymn, “Praise the Lord, the King of Heaven” sung this weekend as an entrance hymn.)