Prince of Peace.
When my son Sam was a child, he asked me a question during the Christmas season: "Why is Jesus called Prince of Peace? Who is the King of Peace?" I was stopped short in my tracks. Having grown up in choirs, singing 'For Unto Us a Son Is Born' from Handel's Messiah, I had never given a second thought to the moniker 'Prince of Peace.' But, Sam is right --- why not a king? I have since reflected on this (after, I'm sure, stumbling on my initial response), and feel some stirrings of what might be understanding.
In my mind's eye, a king, regal and powerful, rules (either well or poorly) over subjects. A king would use power to rule. A king speaks, and it is so. A king is indisputably the most important being in any room, sphere, or realm. A king is "the man", no ifs, and or buts.
A prince? Well now, a prince is a different sort of ruler altogether. The prince must win the hearts of the people, must take a place in the hierarchy as one without absolute power. The prince might lead with gentleness, with good humor.
A Prince? A Prince might just wage not war, but peace. The image is of an incomprehensible reign of peace, maybe even the peace that passes understanding.
Prince of Peace.
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