“O Little Town”
December 9th, 2007
Micah 5:1-5 - Bethlehem was a nowhere town. It was just a small rural community. It was the place where you stopped to use the restroom when you were traveling to a more important place like Jerusalem. But, Bethlehem was where God chose to enter the world. Where God was born is almost as important as the fact that God was born at all. It says something about who God is and who He calls us to be. One hint, it involves humility.
“O Little Town”
Micah 5:1-5
1. I have a question for you. Who knows what I am talking about when I say the words “miracle on ice?” (1980 men’s Olympic hockey gold medal at Lake Placid, NY).
A. Who did the USA play in the semi-finals? (USSR)
B. Do you remember? Game tied 3-3 with about 10 minutes left - Mike Eruzione scored the famous fourth and winning goal, and the crowd went wild!
C. Every living room in America was screaming “U-S-A!” that night. As the clock counted down the final two seconds, the announcer yells, “Do you believe in miracles?” Do you remember?
D. Another question. How many of us remember how many gold medals Eric Heiden won that year? (5)
E. Eric Heiden was expected to win the gold. That in no way diminishes his achievement. But, it is less memorable because it was more likely to happen than “the miracle on ice.”
2. When the humble outshine the proud, it is always a big deal. It is always news.
A. The prophet Micah was a newsmaker of sorts. He was a contemporary of Isaiah, and so he preached a similar message.
B. In the passage that was just read - Israel had gone through the humiliation of exile. Read verse 5:1.
C. So, Micah, like Isaiah, offers a word of hope. Read Micah 5:2-4.
D. Bethlehem!?! Did he say Bethlehem? That little podunk town just south of Jerusalem.
E. What good can come from there? That is a nowhere town. It is just a small rural community. Bethlehem is the place where you stop to use the restroom when you are traveling to a more important place - like Jerusalem.
F. Ephratha - identified with Bethlehem. Whether an ancient name, and an even smaller town absorbed into Bethlehem, we don’t know for sure.
3. You know, the more I read the bible. The more I enjoy God’s sense of humor.
A. Once again, as he has done so many times before, and will do so many times again, God uses the humble of this world to fulfill his plans.
B. The people of Israel have been humiliated, disgraced! And Micah offers them Bethlehem?
C. No one coming from Bethlehem would have been associated with the “power structure” of ancient Israel, which was centered in Jerusalem, in the temple.
4. From 4th grade until I left for college, I lived in the wonderful city of Irvine.
A. Now growing up in Irvine back then was awesome. Culver Drive was a two-lane street with no light between the 5 and the 405.
B. New construction to play in - it was a boy’s dream. But, as I got older, the “master plan” that is the city of Irvine began to take shape. It became “nice.”
C. Nice is a great real estate investment, but it isn’t that fun.
D. As I prepared for this morning’s sermon, I began to think, “what does Micah’s prophecy mean to folks today, in Orange County?”
E. Well, one thing is for sure - if the birth of Jesus occurred today, in Orange County, California, it probably wouldn’t take place in Irvine - it would be against the CC & Rs. It may not even take place in Anaheim Hills.
F. You see, when God is about to do something really big, human estimates of greatness, status, and power are completely irrelevant.
G. In fact, God intentionally chooses the humble to fulfill his purposes.
H. If Christ were born today, it wouldn’t be at Trump Towers (there would probably still be no room in that inn) - it would be somewhere a little more “messy.”
5. So, for the birth of God’s son, he chose insignificant little Bethlehem.
A. And from Bethlehem will come a king, “one who is to rule in Israel.”
B. Because God new that he would have to get people’s attention. And he did not do it with the glitz and glamour of a Las Vegas stage show.
C. He did not do it through a public pronouncement by the designated civic and religious leaders of the day.
D. He did not do it in any of the ways that we would expect.
E. He chose Bethlehem. Simple, rural, nowhere in particular Bethlehem.
F. Do you believe in miracles?
6. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Now, that might not mean much to anyone here, but it means a lot to me.
A. I am an Ohioan, and that is a wonderful thing to be (especially on January 7, 2008).
B. Being born in Ohio has had a profound impact on who I am as a person. It has shaped my world view, my values, my religion, etc.
C. Where were you born, and what has that meant to you?
7. We often hear people talk about what Jesus’ birth meant to humanity - that God ushered in His kingdom in a flesh and blood way.
A. But, there are so many significant aspects to Jesus’ birth, that it would be easy to miss out on their meaning.
B. One such aspect is Jesus’ birthplace. He was born in Bethlehem. And where he was born is as important as the fact that he was born at all.
C. Where God chose to enter into this world says a lot about who God is, and what God expects of us.
D. That Jesus was born in Bethlehem means that we worship a god of the underdog, a god that uses the humble to make known his will in this world.
E. That God would not forget Bethlehem, “one of the little clans of Judah,” should cause us all to stand up and take notice of the way that our God does things.
8. The Spanish writer George Santayana was famous for many things, most notable among them was coining the phrase, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
A. However, there is a little known and seldom celebrated fact about Santayana’s life.
B. George’s father, a civil servant and painter, always traveled third class. One day, Santayana asked his father why he insisted on doing this.
C. “Because there is no fourth class,” was the reply.
D. How contradictory that sentiment seems to us today. How radical. How Christ-like.
E. One of the things that we need to get right with during the season of Advent is that God does not always do things in the nice, clean way that we would like. In fact, God rarely does things that way.
F. God came into this world in Bethlehem - not Jerusalem, or Irvine, or Washington D.C.
G. He was born in a stable - not in a nice clean hospital, or at the Ritz-Carlton.
H. His crib was a feeding trough for animals - not a custom made bassinette.
I. God did this so that we might actually seek him.
J. And from these humble beginnings, God saved the world…Do you believe in miracles?
Sermon delivered 12/09/07 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church, Anaheim Hills.
