Small Beginnings, Huge Promise

Welcome to the final Sunday of Advent! Can you believe that Christmas is almost here?

We’ve been journeying to the manger of Jesus through a series titled “Reboot” where we have been looking at some of the cultural elements of our world that have experienced a reboot over the past several decades, and remembering how God’s been using the same old stories to reboot our faith time and time again, year after year.

There’s a Christmas story nearly all of us grew up with — How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s been told and retold, rebooted multiple times across generations. There’s the 1966 animated classic. There’s the 2000 Jim Carrey version. There’s the 2018 animated reboot. And the thing that’s fascinating is this: no matter how many times the story gets retold, the heart of the Grinch’s transformation is always the same.

Here’s a creature who believes Christmas is nothing more than noise, chaos, commercialism, and inconvenience. He sees the world through bitterness. His heart is small — literally and figuratively.

And then, in each version, something surprising happens. He steals everything — every ornament, every gift, every scrap of food — thinking he has finally stopped Christmas from coming.

But Christmas comes anyway.

It comes without ribbons. It comes without tags. It comes without packages, boxes, or bags.

And for the first time, the Grinch realizes something deeper is going on. Christmas is not built on the things we do, or the things we own, or the things we control. Christmas comes because love comes — and love cannot be stolen.

And when that truth hits him, the story says: “His heart grew three sizes that day.”

Friends, that is the promise that Micah 5, our text for today brings. That is really the story of Bethlehem. That is the reality of Christmas. Because that is what Jesus came to bring: love that grows our hearts and transforms our lives.

MICAH’S WORLD: SMALL, TROUBLED, INSIGNIFICANT — AND PROMISED

Before we read the Scripture, we need to understand the world Micah is speaking into. Judah is a small nation overshadowed by mighty empires. They feel insignificant, vulnerable, and uncertain. Their leaders have failed them. Their society is fragile.

When Micah speaks, he addresses: • political corruption • spiritual failure • economic injustice • threats on every border

It is a world full of anxiety, disappointment, and fear. Sounds relatable right? Some things never change when people are in charge of things.

And into this troubled world, Micah says something stunning — something as surprising as the Grinch hearing the Whos singing:

God is going to begin His greatest work not in a palace, not in a capital city, not in a place of power…

…but in a tiny, overlooked village.

Hear the Word:

Micah 5:2–5 NRSV

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.

BETHLEHEM: THE GRINCH’S CAVE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

Micah names Bethlehem on purpose.

Bethlehem is tiny. Forgotten. Insignificant. A village tucked away with no political clout, no economic power, no military strength. It carried one really historically significant reality: It was the birthplace of the famed King David, but it was generally not important these 1000 years later. It was a used to have been place. Part of the rust belt of Judah if you will.

But Jerusalem is where all of the action is. The Temple, the economic center of Judah, the royal palace.

Jerusalem is like Whoville — busy, noisy, bustling — and Bethlehem is like the Grinch’s cave: the last place you’d expect anything important to happen.

Yet God says:

“That’s where I’ll start. That’s where the King will come from. That’s where my love will enter the world.”

Why? Because God delights in small beginnings. Because God loves to work where no one is looking. Because God is drawn to the humble, the ordinary, the overlooked.

The Savior of the world does not come from Rome. Not from Athens. Not from Jerusalem.

He comes from Bethlehem — a place so small it barely shows up on ancient maps.

This is God’s gentle but direct announcement:

“Do not underestimate what I can do with something small.”

THE GRINCH’S HEART AND OURS

In every version of the Grinch, something happens that is deeply theological: His heart changes because he encounters love he did not expect.

He believed Christmas was about stuff. He believed joy could be stolen. He believed community could be undone. He believed his bitterness was justified.

But then he hears singing — joy rising from a place he thought he had conquered.

And that joy breaks him open.

That joy grows his heart. That joy changes his life. That joy turns him toward love.

That’s Advent.

That’s what Jesus does. Jesus grows hearts. Jesus heals what bitterness has shrunk. Jesus softens what wounds have hardened. Jesus restores what cynicism has frozen stiff. Jesus enlarges our compassion, our courage, our capacity to love.

Christmas does not celebrate our love for God. Christmas celebrates God’s love for us.

THE HEART-GROWING POWER OF SMALL BEGINNINGS

Micah says the ruler who will come from Bethlehem “will stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord.” He will bring security. He will bring greatness — not the greatness of power, but the greatness of love.

And Micah ends with the most breathtaking line:

“He shall be the one of peace.”

Not “He will bring peace.” Not “He will work for peace.” Not “He will talk about peace.”

He shall be the one of peace.

Peace is not something Jesus gives us apart from Himself. Peace is what happens when He enters our world, our homes, our hearts.

And so, on this fourth Sunday of Advent, we celebrate the truth that love — God’s love — is not an idea. It is a person. Jesus Christ.

Love comes down. Love takes on flesh. Love is born in Bethlehem. Love moves into our neighborhood.

Love climbs into our manger moments — the moments that feel small, humble, unimportant — and says:

“I can start here.”

CONNECTING THIS TO REAL LIFE

We live in a world with shrinking hearts.

A world that encourages cynicism. A world where fear gets clicks and outrage gets attention. A world where people are quick to judge, slow to forgive, and exhausted by everything in between.

Some of us feel our hearts shrinking too.

Maybe life has worn you down. Maybe grief has tightened its grip. Maybe disappointment has bruised your hope. Maybe anxiety has shrunk your capacity to love. Maybe conflict has hardened your edges.

But Christmas comes anyway.

And when it comes, it says: “Your heart can grow. With God, your heart will grow.”

Not by pretending everything is okay. Not by forcing joy. Not by ignoring hurt.

But by letting Jesus — the One of peace — come close.

His love grows hearts. His love softens wounds. His love opens us to hope again. His love enlarges what life has diminished.

Jesus is not just born in Bethlehem. Jesus is born wherever love grows.

THE GRINCH’S FINAL SCENE — AND OURS

There is a moment in every version of the Grinch that feels like holy ground.

It’s when he brings everything back. He returns the gifts. He returns the decorations. He returns the food.

But here’s the thing: That’s not the real miracle.

The miracle is that he wants to.

The miracle is that his heart has changed. The miracle is that he has discovered a new way of being. The miracle is that love has taken root in him.

Christmas does not just change our circumstances. Christmas changes our hearts.

And so, as we head into Christmas week… As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus… As we get ready to light the Christ Candle…

We pause to ask one question:

Where does Jesus want to grow my heart?

Where does He want to plant love? Where does He want to begin something small? Where does He want to bring peace? Where does He want to surprise me with joy? Where does He want to start a reboot?

Because if God can begin the salvation of the world in Bethlehem… If God can transform a bitter heart on Mount Crumpit… Then God can absolutely begin something new in you.

Your life is not too small. Your heart is not too hardened. Your hope is not too forgotten. Your story is not too late.

Bethlehem teaches us this:

Never underestimate what God can do with something small. Never underestimate what God can do in a heart willing to receive Him.

Jesus comes in love. Jesus comes in peace. Jesus comes to grow your heart.

Amen.