The Coming Promise

What is your favorite Christmas song/carol?

As we enter into this new season let’s give some of our favorite songs of the season.

The season of advent is upon us.

This is a great time of year; especially for the Church. It is a season of expectancy. A season of looking forward to a new year. How fitting we experience advent at the beginning of our Winter season which reminds us that God can bring new life even in the middle of winter.

This year, Christmas may seem a bit off.

Whether we like it or not this is probably true. I encourage us to make it just like every other Christmas time but still deep down inside our bodies, our minds, even our spirits will tell us, “somethings just not right”. Something about a pandemic just knocks off what is “normal” and expected.

We are to be people of hope.

Even in the midst of these days. This is one of our greatest callings. Our world is trying to figure things out and we as the people of God have been given the chance to show that we are different. Different not in what we wear, or don’t. Different in our core belief that tomorrow can be better. Or as the writers of Scripture may say, “This too shall pass”.

The candle we lit today is the candle of hope. Advent reminds us that we are people of hope. But, the promises of advent didn’t come to be because things were going just fine. In fact, most of the promises of the season come from a time very similar to what we are experiencing. A time when things were a little “off”.

How can we be people of Hope?

This is our question of life. What does hope look like? Where do we find our hope? Fortunately Scripture is not silent on these matters. Join me as we look at the words of God found through the prophet Micah.

We must look outside ourselves.

The section starting in Micah 4.6 and runs through Micah 5.9 is a reminder to the nations, especially Israel, to not trust in what they can or cannot do. They are to be reminded their hope is not in who they are but in who the Lord is.

Our deliverer comes from an unlikely place.

The most well known passage in all of Micah is the one of our season. The coming Messiah was to be from the line of David. This should not surprise any student of Scripture. This was foretold even before the time of Micah. But it is a reminder that if we are to be people of hope the “normal” or “expected” places of hope and power will not suffice. God has a reputation of using the unlikely characters to do his will.

We must remember well.

The promise was a reminder to the nation that after many bad kings they were to remember the best king of Israel, David. Yet it is hard to remember when things are not quite right. We are also reminded in a deeper sense that the Messiah which is promised in these verse may have a longer history than even Micah anticipated.

We must wait patiently.

Unfortunately the promise was not what the nation may have wanted to hear. Surely God would not abandon his people in their time of need? Surely God would save them from the wicked and evil Assyrians? Right? No.

In order to be people of hope we must go through terrible times. Life will not always be easy. Yet, we have the truth of the first Christmas, God does not forget his people forever. God is always up to something!

Hope realized is not hope at all. We only have hope when we realize there is something greater coming our way.

God is sovereign and faithful.

The words of Micah 5.2 came to be true when 700 years later Caesar issues a decree asking the whole world to be taxed, and go home to be counted. The words of Micah become etched in our minds because 700 years later Magi come to Jerusalem seeking the newborn king and it is the religious leaders who quote these great words.

Hope comes from the Good Shepherd.

Micah prophesied that instead a ruler/king/leader the Messiah would be a shepherd like his forefather David. Our marvelous stained glass window is a reminder to all who see our church there is someone who loves them and will give them hope. Not because things will always go well but because he is good and loves us.

Hope leads to security.

We are secure because of who Jesus is. We do not get security on our own; though we may try. We cannot buy security, think our way into it.

Christ is our peace.

Notice that Micah changes from talking about security from evil forces to remind the people this new shepherd will not just give peace but will be peace. Peace is not the absence of conflict or struggles. Peace is not everything is going as planned. Peace is Christ in the midst of the conflict. Peace is Christ in the midst of the terrible diagnosis. Peace is Christ in sufferings.

We live among others.

After we have come to know Christ as our peace we live among others so they too have the chance to know true hope and peace.