The Rev. Paul J Cain
Micah 5:2-5a
Peace, Peace
Fourth Sunday in Advent C, 23 December 2012
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
About the Cover: Little Bethlehem
was a humble town whose name means “the house of bread.” There, [Jesus,] the
Bread of Life would be born. [The town was] So like Him—humble and
unpretentious. Who would even guess that such a village would have the honor of
welcoming the King of kings at His birth among us? [Jesus] (He) continues His
unpretentious ways today, coming to us still in humble words, water, bread, and
wine. [Humble, yes, yet still a royal, hence the blue for Advent. Jesus brings
you peace the world cannot give.]
Today, the sermon text is the Old Testament reading for the Fourth Sunday
in Advent, five verses from chapter five of the book of the prophet Micah.
But you, O Bethlehem
Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall
come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from
of old, from ancient days.
Bethlehem, “house of
bread,” is a Hebrew word, and so is “Ephrathah,” a specific term for the
specific surrounding area of the suburbs of Bethlehem, the “greater metropolitan
region” around Bethlehem. Other than being a name for a few people, the word is
only used here and Ruth chapter four.
St. Matthew, in his
second chapter, quotes this verse as “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of
Judah…” Matthew shows there is something more going on later in that
chapter(16-18) as he writes:
Then Herod, when he
saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and
killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who
were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from
the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A
voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
Micah wrote about
Bethlehem, and so we sing our hymns of joy because of He who was born in that
little town. Micah also prophesies of Bethlehem Ephrathah, because of the horrors of what would happen “in
Bethlehem and in all that region” when King Herod tried to kill the King
of Kings. We will meditate more on that tomorrow evening. Even today, Rachel,
wife of Jacob, also known as Israel, weeps for her children. She reminds us all
how much we need the peace of God.
Martin Luther takes
the time to focus on the latter part of this first portion of our text, where
Micah predicts: “from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in
Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
About the timing of
all of this Dr. Luther writes: “He does not come forth first from Bethlehem [right]
after the Babylonian captivity but came forth a long time ago already. This is
just the way John [the Evangelist] describes the divinity of Christ (John 1:1):
‘In the beginning was the Word.’ In his song, Ps. 90:2, Moses sings: ‘From
everlasting to everlasting Thou art God.’ There Moses used the same expression
that Micah uses here, that is: ‘You did not begin with the world, but, when the
world began to be, You already were.’ Christ also says about Himself: ‘Before
Abraham was, I am’ (John 8:58)” (AE 18:248).[1] End
quote.
There’s another
issue of timing in the text. Between the time of the Prophet Micah and the
fulfillment of this next prophecy, the people would suffer at the hands of
their enemies.
Therefore he shall
give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the
rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.
The phrase “give
them up” means what you think it does. When the good guys come to arrest the
bad guys, they call out, “Come out with your hands up. Give it up.” God’s
ancient people would be conquered for cause—unfaithfulness to the Lord.
Micah writes during
the time the northern kingdom of Israel was defeated by Assyria, just over 700
years before the first Christmas. Less than 600 years before the first
Christmas, the city of Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, and Judah, including
Bethlehem, was defeated. The people were taken into captivity. They were
allowed to return seventy years later, but were henceforth under the thumb of
foreign rulers, including the Greeks and the Romans in between the Old
Testament and the New Testament.
Even the chief
priests and scribes of bad King Herod’s day knew where THE King of the Jews was
to be born, little Bethlehem, Ephratha, and that there would be political
ramifications for whoever thought he was king at the time. That’s why Herod
felt so threatened by a baby boy.
Until the time.
That’s what we’re waiting for, “when the fullness of time had come,” according
to Galatians 4, or as our text says, “until the time when she who is in labor
has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of
Israel.”
We know that the
virgin Mary is the mother in labor. We know that the first Christmas is the
day. We know that Jesus is the birthday boy. Who are “the rest of his
brothers”?
First, his brothers
are those of His own people, the Jews. Many believed in Him during His earthly
ministry and were the first apostles and Christians. Some of the Lord’s ancient
people rejected Him in ancient times, all the way back to the very beginning of
history. Some rejected Jesus’ claims in during Jesus’ earthly ministry. Many
Jews still reject Jesus as Messiah and the Son of God even today. Some don’t,
thanks be to God!
Second, “his
brothers” are those whom He calls brothers, when He teaches all Gentile and
Jewish believers in Him to pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven.” Yes, ladies,
Jesus even calls you His brother. All who pray “Our Father” as Jesus taught are
included.
Third and finally,
“his brothers” are potentially the entire human race. St. Matthew begins his
Gospel account in this way: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son
of David, the son of Abraham (Mt. 1:1) At the end of Luke 3, St. Luke concludes
his genealogy of Jesus by tracing Him back to the very beginning: 38 the son of Enos, the
son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God (Luke 3:38). Christmas is to be
good news of great joy for all people.
Jesus, the Prince of
Peace, has roles to fulfill according to the prophet Micah:
And he shall stand
and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name
of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to
the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.
He shall be your
peace. How? He is your shepherd, your Good Shepherd. And that word transcends
languages and cultures, continents and centuries to be a word familiar to all
of us, pastor. The word “p a s t o r” means shepherd in Latin, German, and even
in English. Jesus will stand and shepherd you. He will pastor you through me,
through your Called and Ordained servant of the Word.
Jesus will continue
to shepherd you through good days and bad, war and peace, prosperity and
adversity, even sickness and health, and He will do so in the strength of the
Lord for He is the Lord. He will shepherd you in the majesty of the name of the
Lord His God for He is the Lord God and has the Name that is above every name in
heaven and on earth and under the earth. And you—even you—shall dwell secure. And
He is Great to the ends of the earth. The sun never goes down on the holy
Christian Church. He has His Christians around the world and one day, peoples
of every tribe, nation, and language will gather around His throne to praise
Him. That is heavenly peace. In the meantime, Jesus is your peace now and
always. Amen.
The peace of God, which [sur]passes all understanding, keep your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1]
Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran
Study Bible (1492). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.
