From Bethlehem to the Ends of the Earth

​4th Sunday in Advent – C                                                                              LSB #’s 341, 353, 348
Text – Micah 5:4
 
And he shall stand & 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.
 
FROM BETHLEHEM TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
 
 
Start spreadin’ the news    I’m leavin’ today    I want to be a part of it    New York, New York…   What’s another iconic song about a famous city?    I Left My Heart in San Francisco.   Those two songs alone have been sung a million times over.      How about songs touting less famous places – let’s say Onondaga   or Potterville?   They’re still waiting  to make the charts. 
Bethlehem was nothing more of a town than Onondaga or Potterville,  yet the hymn O Little Town of Bethlehem is famous  across American Christianity.  Its history changed when God sent the prophet Samuel there to find & anoint the next king.   However, the line of kings that successively descended from David became entirely corrupt.  No more kings from Jerusalem! 
Micah tells us that God would go back to Bethlehem  to bring a new king into the world.  This king would still be a descendant of David,  yet He will belong to an order that predates David & the tragic decline of David’s line.   This king will begin a new order that endures & triumphs  where David’s line would fail. 
God’s judgment must run its course though  before the new king arrives.  The Creator surrenders to judgment  His people  until the birth of the new king.  That doesn’t mean individual believers will not be saved,  but it does mean that God’s kingdom on earth will not appear as we expect it to.   Rather, God’s kingdom on earth will suffer & die  just as His Son would. 
How that judgment on His people appears in our day is through the closing of churches & schools.  It occurs when pastors leave the ministry because of ethical violations.  It occurred in Wisconsin this past week  as a student went to school intent upon killing a teacher & another student.  We look at those things & wonder, “How can this be God’s will?”     Don’t you think Adam & Eve asked that question when their firstborn son killed their second born?   Christians throughout time have asked that very question in all manner of personal circumstances, “How can this suffering,  how can my suffering,  be God’s will?” 
While Jesus lived on earth, He addressed those questions when He told His followers, “In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33bc ESV)   By tribulation, Jesus meant  all the effects of sin.  One of those effects is not having a prophet to speak the Word of God on Yahweh’s behalf. 
After the arrival of Micah, God would be silent with His people for 70 years,  because His kings & His people would go so far astray.   After the fall of Jerusalem, & God’s exile of His own people, God would be silent for another 400 years, until John the Baptist was sent.  John would immediately prepare the way for the new ruler who was to come from Bethlehem. 
That is whom the prophecy of Micah is addressing:
“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…  And he shall stand & 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.” 
 
In the world that you & I live in, do you feel secure?   On the surface of it, most of us would answer that question, “No.”  It is not a secure world that we live in.  Sin has seen to that.  Yet, that very simple question, “Do you feel secure?” is the genesis for much of what is wrong in our world.   It’s basically the same question Satan has been asking since the beginning. 
“Did God really say…?” & “Do you feel secure?” each lead us in the same direction = “Can I trust God to care for me?”  As I was studying the commentaries on the Bible reading from Micah, it was clear that many scholars are not certain that Micah is speaking about Jesus Christ.  Even though Matthew cites this text in his Gospel,  to show where Jesus would be born,  people are unconvinced.  And the reason seems to boil down to the last sentence in V. 4, “And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.”  Do you feel secure?  Does Jesus appear to be great in the nation you live in,  let alone to the ends of the earth? 
You can be honest.  Your answer is probably “No!”   That’s how our sinful nature functions.  We use our physical senses to give us information about our world.   Our emotions then interpret that information.  We do it effortlessly, millions of times each day.  The problem is, faith in Jesus as Lord & Savior  is not normally part of that very instantaneous process.
We see that we’re running late & we hit the accelerator.    We see our team making a bonehead play & we scream out boneheaded words.  We wake up to a cold & dreary day   & feelings of depression take over.  One of the relatives says something rude at the Christmas party & we take offense.  A child leaves cookie crumbs on the floor & we yell at them to clean it up. 
Those are all relatively minor issues in the struggle of living in a sinful world.  At other times, we lose our job, or a spouse files for divorce, or the doctor speaks the “C” word,  or a car accident causes major injuries.  Then  we feel really insecure & our fears cause us to choose a direction far more problematic than a few boneheaded words. 
Whether we are interpreting Holy Scripture,  or interpreting the circumstances of our lives,  it is extremely important to understand, or at least recognize, upon what foundation we are making that interpretation.  If the foundation is our feelings,  then we are in a very  precarious position.    Do you know what the foundation should be? 
The words of Elizabeth in the Gospel reading give us a clue: “And blessed is she  who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”  (Luke 1:45 ESV)   Elizabeth is encouraging Mary by helping her to realize how blessed she is  because Mary believed the promise the Lord had given to her through the angel Gabriel.   In Matthew 8:26, Jesus makes a clear connection for us, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”  (ESV)   The foundation upon which all of our interpretations should be based  is that of faith in Jesus as our Lord & Savior.   Our emotional nature,  though a gift of God,  has been corrupted by sin. 
Our faith in Jesus,  & our ability to believe the Word of God,  are gifts to us,  & they are part of the new creation that Jesus has come  to bring.  However, they are still impacted by the sinfulness of the old creation.  The text from Micah begins with the insignificance of Bethlehem & the suffering in this broken world.  It ends with the joy, peace & security of heaven. 
The ruler who is bringing this to us is Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem & yet ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God.  Right now Jesus is great to the ends of the earth, even though you & I can’t see that with our physical eyes.  And Jesus sits at the right hand of God in order to guide & direct all the circumstances of this world to the good  of all God’s children. 
If we try to interpret Micah’s words from the foundation of our feelings, he’s preaching nothing more than pie in the sky.  If we interpret Micah’s words from the foundation of the faith God’s Spirit created in us,  then we find rest & hope for our future, no matter what we see. 
When our emotions say, “How can this be God’s will?” our faith says, “God is beginning something new.”   Growing in faith is often about holding our emotions at arm’s length,   so that our faith can come into play,  as we interpret the circumstances of our lives.   God is at work through all of them, always working to create something new.
That something new is the holy & perfect child of God that you will be in heaven.  Amen.
Jesus came, the heavens adoring,  came with peace from realms on high;  Jesus came to win redemption,  lowly came on earth to die;  Alleluia!  Alleluia!   Came in deep humility.    Jesus comes again in mercy  when our hearts are worn with care;  Jesus comes again in answer  to an earnest, heartfelt prayer;  Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Comes to save us from despair.    Jesus comes in joy & sorrow,  shares alike our hopes & fears;  Jesus comes, whate’er befalls us,  cheers our hearts & dries our tears.  Alleluia!  Alleluia!   Comforts us in failing years.  Amen.  LSB 353:1-2, 4.