Longing - Waiting – Watching – The heart of advent – longing and waiting, and watching for Christ - But where are we looking?
The 8th Century BC – The Assyrians are storming over the near east – conquering everything in their path– the northern 10 tribes – confusingly called the kingdom of Israel has fallen. The Assyrians keep coming - assaulting the Kingdom of Judah – the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The place where the house of David Reigns - Where is there hope? From where shall come salvation?
This is the environment that Micah is prophesying in. It is not a pretty world. It is a world with injustice, the abuse of the poor. And there is the acute thread of the Assyrian Empire – it is a world where the Jewish people are under siege, with the Assyrian Empire marching all the way to the gates of Jerusalem. The question becomes, how are they to survive this? Where are they looking - for hope - for salvation?
A logical place to look would be Jerusalem – A place that many looked to – The capital of the kingdom. The place of Political, Military, and Economic Power. The place were the house of David is on the throne - Surely Jerusalem will stand…
Yet money will fail, as eventual they will run out of it – they can only buy of the Assyrians for so long. Political power will fail, diplomacy does not always work, other nations can be fickle, Egypt might not come to save them – For how is it good for Egypt? And as for Military Might, Jerusalem may be strongest city in Judah – but can it fight the powers of the mighty Assyrian Empire? The one that just swept through conquering all of Mesopotamia.
Perhaps religion can be salvation – the temple is in Jerusalem. There is no way that God would let the temple fall. The house of God on earth… Here there seems to be hope – God will not let his temple fall – and this seemed to be true – Jerusalem held for now… The Assyrians turn back at the gates of Jerusalem
Just over a century later, the Babylonians were back – this time conquering Jerusalem – bringing Judah into exile – Jerusalem held for a while – but ultimately it was not enough - where can Judah turn for hope – where ought they to look? Jerusalem was not enough.
A dilemma that can also be true today. Where do we look for hope? In the military and politics of Washington? The economic powers of Wall Street and New York City? The technological powers of Silicon Valley? The Celebrities and Cultural influence of Los Angeles? These may be great cities, but it is not where our hope lies. The power of the big city can fail and will fail eventually - just as Jerusalem eventual fell.
Even Rome, where sits the successor of peter, the vicar of Christ is not enough. Popes have been sent into exile before, and while the bishop of Rome may be the vicar of Christ, he is not Christ – while we have not had a bad Pope for a while, there are plenty of bad Popes in history. Where today ought we to look?
It is Micah, living in the midst of the Assyrian assault knows that any victory of Jerusalem is temporary – He looks to a different place for restoration – “Bethlehem, too small to be among the clans of Judah”– A small town not far from Jerusalem, not of great importance at the time. Seemingly insignificant beside its larger and more important neighbor - and in that place, he does not look for a civil king, wealth, or a military army, but for “one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old,from ancient times.” – The king in Judah was of the house of David, but so is Christ, and it is Christ who the answer, to be found in Bethlehem. A humble origin to one who was before the creation of the world. He does not come with armies, political power, or money –It is he to whom Judah must look for hope, coming out of the town of Bethlehem. It is Christ who will be their salvation – fulfilling all God’s promises to them. They must look to Bethlehem, as Micah prophesied.
So also, today – we must look to Bethlehem again – Look for Christ coming to Bethlehem – This is what we have been doing throughout advent – watching and longing for Christ
But where is Bethlehem – on one hand it is easy to find on a map – just search google maps for Bethlehem and there it is. And that is where Christ came in history – Where is Bethlehem today? The town that is not so significant, yet where Christ is found. It is not Washington, New York, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, or Rome. Those are all like Jerusalem, important places, with true significance and not to be ignored, but
In small parishes around the world Jesus is present in the tabernacle, not just the big cathedrals and basilicas. In small towns in rural areas where no highway comes close – Jesus comes there as well. In poor areas where it is hard to make ends meet – Jesus comes to them there. As we approach Christmas, we are longing and watch for Christ, but where do we look for Christ? Do we only look the obvious and big places, or to the humble, poor, and obscure?
Look, Watch, and Hope – Following Micah’s cry - look to Bethlehem.