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Who We Are - Sermon, December 21, 2003 "Fourth Sunday in Advent"
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Micah 5:2-5 as follows —
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from days of eternity." There-fore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace.
Dear Friends in Jesus,
There is peace on earth. There is peace on earth in spite of what some people always say at Christmas time. They may not come right out and say it, but it's implied or hinted at, and I'm sure you've picked up on this at one time or another. It's the notion that Jesus failed. That the promise of the angels on the night he was born, the promise of "peace on earth" was a bogus promise, or an unfulfilled promise. Or maybe just part of the myth or fairy tale? No more than a nice-sounding wish, the way you see it on a bazillion Christmas cards.
Of course the world wishes for peace, for an end to smart bombs and car bombs and AK 47's and hatred and prejudice and quarreling. "Why can't we all just get along?" people ask. But clearly people just don't seem to be able to get along. And it's not just nations, like the US and Iraq. It's not just races, like black and white. It's people, individuals, like you and me. There's just so much anger, so much hating, so much of people at each other's throats!
So, was it a bogus promise when the multitude of the heavenly host roared out, "Peace on earth!"? Was it not much more than a Christmas-card wish? Was the One born that night a big fat disappointment? Did Jesus fail to bring peace? Of course he did not fail; he was a spectacular success! He succeeded in doing everything his Father had planned for him. He did everything and he IS everything that God wanted, and that you and I needed. He brought peace and more than that; the truth is: JESUS IS PEACE, just as God promised long before his birth, through Micah.
Through this prophet also, the LORD foretold gloom and doom for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. He said that their kings would be struck down and they'd be abandoned. The LORD was going to allow foreign rulers to grind God's people under their heels. But, he also promised here, in the future a Ruler would come, one who would rule "to the ends of the earth" in strength and majesty. And — surprise! — he would come out of Bethlehem. Bethlehem, of all places! Bethlehem, a little village 6 miles south of Jerusalem, a town too small in ancient times to be officially counted among the cities of Judah.
Yet, God says, from there "will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel." "For me," the LORD says. He's coming to do MY will. He's coming to accomplish MY purposes. What did we just read in Hebrews 10? That Jesus said, "Here I am. I have come to do your will, O God." What God wanted was to nullify the effects of Adam's fall, of mankind's rebellion. What God wanted was to rescue, to redeem, to reconcile sinful people to himself once again. What God wanted was to restore you and me to a right relationship with him, our loving Father. Simply put, he wanted to make peace between himself and sinners.
But who could do all this? Who might be up to such a task? Who in the world could serve as the Mediator between God and men, the Reconciler of the human race, the flawlessly obedient Servant of the LORD and the all-sufficient Sacrifice for the world's sins? Well, it would have to be someone special, to say the least. Someone enough like us to take our place under the law's demands and under its curse, someone human enough to be the representative of the human race. At the same time, someone big enough and strong enough to atone for sin and crush the serpent's head and overcome death itself! Well, the LORD said through Micah, that's precisely who is coming. He's the One who will be born of a woman, yet also the One "whose origins are from of old, from days of eternity." The Ruler to be born in Bethlehem is God himself, the eternal Son of the Father, the One whom St. John called "the Word." He's the "Immanuel" of Isaiah 7, the "Mighty God" of Isaiah 9. He's Jesus, the Word who became flesh, the man who stood there and told the Jews, "Before Abraham was born, I am."
This is the God-man, who came to be the Mediator and Reconciler, the perfect Servant of the LORD and the all-sufficient Sacrifice for sins. And he could not fail! Micah saw that he would succeed spectacularly. He wrote: "He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God." When his saving work is finished, he'll be the One standing — as the living, breathing, conquering Savior, who atoned for sin and crushed the serpent's head and overcame death itself. He will stand, ruling as Shepherd-King. He will stand in might and majesty, tending his flock with the most protective, gentle and loving care. That's how Isaiah had also described him: "He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."
It seems that God has a way of using the puny, the insignificant, the humble things of this world — people and places and events — to do big, big things. Jesus' mother-to-be said it well: "He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble." Indeed, St. Paul wrote: "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are."
Bethlehem, of all places! A baby born to a teenage girl from Nazereth in Galilee! A boy who grew up in obscurity, to become a man who never had a job, never owned a house. A rabbi who attracted a small and rather odd assortment of disciples. A miracle-worker who refused an earthly crown and chose a blood-stained cross instead, rejected by those he came to save. A Messiah who died in abject humiliation!
The world in its wisdom is not impressed; many hear the story and think, "Such foolishness!" But there are many who know that the "foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom." They know that Jesus is their Redeemer and Reconciler, their Savior and God. Furthermore, they know that Jesus is peace. Micah said, of those who are shepherded by this King, "they will live securely...and he will be peace." There is peace on earth, perfect security, for all who truly know Jesus Christ.
It's the peace, first and foremost, that the Son of God made between God and mankind. The Word says, "For God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." That's the peace we have in Jesus, knowing that our sins are forgiven. And that includes our sins of not getting along with others, our sins of despising others, of neglecting others, of slandering others, of abusing others, of not respecting others. All our sins of angrily or carelessly not loving others as God demands, they all have been paid for in the blood of God's one and only Son. To know that is to know peace.
It's the peace we have when our consciences accuse us. Then the Word speaks to our hearts, "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies." It's the peace we have in all the troubles of life, knowing that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." It's the peace we have in all our needs, figuring, as St. Paul did, that "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" It's the peace we have in facing death, trusting our Savior's promise: "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."
Last but surely not least, it's the peace we put into practice in our lives, as we are "kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God has forgiven us." It's the peace we have in dealing with other people with what James called "heavenly wisdom." That wisdom, he says, is "peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit."
It's true: there is peace on earth, just as the angels predicted there would be. Wherever Jesus is, there is peace. Wherever Jesus rules with his love, there is peace. Wherever we sinful saints treasure his grace and appreciate his forgiveness and take his Word to heart and apply it in our daily lives, there is peace. It was not a bogus promise nor an unfulfilled promise. It isn't just a nice-sounding Christmas-card wish. There is peace on earth, because Jesus is peace! Amen.