Scripture Text: Micah 5: 1-5a

Now you are walled around with a wall; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the ruler of Israel upon the cheek. ²But 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. ³Therefore 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. ⁴And 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; ⁵and he shall be the one of peace.

The time in which Micah prophesied was a time of great turmoil and violence.  The Assyrians had already invaded the region, had captured Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom), and had attacked several towns in Judah.  Corruption was at its height among the rulers and the people were reaching a point of despair.  Their expectations more than likely would have been for God to send a great warrior, a ruler who would quash the growing threat and instill a sense of safety for all against their enemies. But, instead, the prophet promises a ruler, a new Davidic king, who will bring peace.

But keep in mind that the original prophecy and the current-day Jewish interpretation does not associate this promise with the coming of Jesus (yeah, again).  In fact, there’s some disagreement as to whether we’re even talking about the right Bethlehem! (There was one in Zebulun, near present-day Nazareth) I don’t think it matters but I do think that the Old Testament should stand within the context in which it was written.  This was the promise of a king that would bring a time of peace against the Assyrians and for the time thereafter.  But for the Gospel writers, this understanding was illumined through Jesus Christ.  Again, neither is the “right way” or the “wrong way” to understand it.  Either way, God offers hope and promise of new life.  

So, who is this “one of peace”?  I mean, as near as I can tell, the world has never experienced peace.  For as long as history has been written, the earth has rocked on its axis with threats or acts of war and violence and intentional ways to divide us.  Sadly, a good portion of those acts have been because of religious differences and between warring religious factions!  Rulers have come and gone, pushing each other aside.  Borders have moved and shifted, sometimes to the point of leaving behind homeless refugees with no place to call home.  And in the midst of it all, Jesus was born.  Great theologians and spiritual thinkers have written of the peaceful time to come.  St. Augustine of Hippo even laid the groundwork for what would become the “Just War Theory” on which all global “rules” of war are based.  (In seminary, I did a whole long project paper on the Just War Theory primarily because I thought the whole thing sounded like an oxymoron.)

But peace still seems to be elusive for us.  Could it be that the promise of peace is elusive because we’re waiting for someone else to do something?  Jesus did not bring peace as if it could be manifest with some sort of magic earthly pill. Instead, Jesus showed us a different Way, a radical Way, the Way of Peace. Jesus did not bring peace; Jesus brought the love of peace.  What Jesus showed us was indeed radical.  It was a different Way than the one to which the world was and is accustomed.  This Way of Peace is not merely an absence of war.  I mean, think about it, there was a cease-fire in place for several years between Russia and Ukraine…until there wasn’t.  There was a cease-fire in place for several years between Israel and Hamas…until there wasn’t.  No, peace has to do with so much more, a pervasive and radical re-imagining of the way we live in this world. 

Peace cannot be until we respect one another, whether or not we agree.  Peace cannot be until we honor one another’s life, respect one another’s sovereignty, until food and water and housing and safety is available for all.  Peace cannot be until we realize that this earth in which we live, all of its creatures, all of its resources, and all of its beauty are entrusted to us not for our consumption but for our care.  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  The “one of peace” has indeed come but peace itself is up to us as children of God.  Each of us has a part. Our journey toward the Light is a Way of Peace.

During this season of Advent, we have talked a lot about peace.  It is easy to limit it, if not dismiss it, as nothing more than the ideal—the ideal way to be, the ideal way to live, the ideal way for the world.  It’s easy to assume that it cannot come to be in the world in which we live.  I mean, that “little town of Bethlehem” is not in Israel right now.  It’s in the West Bank.  It has a wall around it, a wall that you walk through surrounded by a literal maze of barbed wire and guards.  That doesn’t feel very peaceful.  So, peace remains elusive.  Maybe peace cannot exist on the macro level that we crave so badly.  Maybe the world really isn’t capable of peace at all.  I don’t know. 

But what if our prayer for peace begins with ourselves?  Maybe inner peace IS what we need to pursue because it seems that that would be the beginning of a broader peace.  If each of us chose peace for ourselves, just as we choose light, just as we choose hope, that peace would begin to radiate beyond us.  Maybe that is the way of peace.  Maybe just because we’re not in a position to affect global diplomacy doesn’t mean that part of it is not up to us.  Start with yourself.  Choose peace.  In this season of hope, choose peace.  And go from there. That is my prayer for the season.  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.…Dona nobis pacem…grant us peace. Amen.

Peace does not come rolling in on the wheels of inevitability.  We can’t just wish for peace.  We have to will it, fight for it, suffer for it, demand it from our governments as if peace were God’s most cherished hope for humanity, as indeed it is.  (William Sloan Coffin) 

Grace and Peace,

Shelli