“Yes we can” the victory motif of the US Liberals rang out loud and clear in College Green this week as the master wordsmith worked the crowd of enthusiastic supporters. President Obama (of the Moneygall O’Bamas) was in town! He had met our president, shaken the hands of half the population of Moneygall and, along with Michelle, drunk the mandatory pint of Guinness proving without any doubt he was Irish. He didn’t kiss the Blarney Stone. He didn’t need to! He left us all feeling 10 feet tall. His summary of Irish history confirmed that there is nothing we cannot survive and the pride of race he engendered was only slightly dimmed when he claimed English ancestry in the UK the next day! But it was the display of power that was most impressive. Airforce 1, a jumbo no less, had been preceded by a massive plane which disgorged a fleet of cars and 5 helicopters onto the runway. Among the cars was “the beast”. This armour plated monster of a stretch limousine got itself stuck on the US Embassy ramp requiring three hours work by a local contractor to lift the brute over the obstacle! One of the helicopters was blown over by the strong winds and had to be left behind when the dust cloud from the Icelandic volcano threatened our airspace and the Obama’s made a hasty departure for the relative safety of the UK. What has the Bible to say about all this? The scriptures record many instances of temporal power being wielded by kings and emperors. Some acted justly and tempered justice with mercy as in the case of King David with Mephibosheth (2 Samuel chapter 9). Others like the Roman army of occupation used public execution as a means of asserting authority. The greater the exercise of power the more likely they were to be worshipped as god (Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 3). The one thing about temporal power is that it is transitory. It does not last. It is contrasted with spiritual power, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” When St Peter used the sword to cut off Malchus’s ear in Gethsemane the pathetic nature of the gesture brought the rebuke from Jesus “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (St Matthew chapter 26 verse 53) But it was on the cross that we see Jesus exhibit all power under total control. This is not the power of might but of right. This is not the ability to do what you want but to do what you ought. This is what Jesus came to do – to die for his people bearing their sin and thus enabling them to be presented faultless before the throne of God. That power is the opposite of worldly power – it starts with a bowing of the knee to the one who died for you and a set of the will to follow Him as Lord all the days of your life on earth and then forever more.