The One of Peace. Micah 5:2-5a. 12/08/24.
The One of Peace
Micah 5:2-5a
Rev. Dr. Rhonda Blevins
December 8, 2024
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.
______
“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”
—Unknown
To me, one of the great promises and goals of the Christian life is to be able to grow in our ability to have inner peace no matter the external chaos. I’m still a work in progress on this front. How about you?
This morning, I invite you to explore with your mind the idea of peace—the peace of Christ that passes understanding. And as we explore the idea with our minds, my hope and prayer is that some peace might trickle down from our heads into our hearts. Let’s begin, shall we?
Our opening hymn today was “Silent Night, Holy Night.” Usually, I hold off on including this most beloved Christmas carol until Christmas Eve. We’ll dim the artificial house lights, and light one another’s candles as we sing the hymn together. But it seems to me that during this most difficult time in our community, that sharing in the comfort of some of the most cherished Christmas carols is soul-healing. Some churches are sticklers during this time of year—"Advent hymns only! No Christmas carols!” The idea is that Advent is a season of waiting—that we are to explore the hardship and the tension of waiting for the birth of the Christ child. But given the difficulty so many in our congregation have faced over the past couple of months, the comfort of the familiar Christmas carols seems the only appropriate response.
The origin of “Silent Night” isn’t particularly noteworthy. It was written in a small Austrian village by a young priest who wrote the lyrics, and a schoolteacher/organist who set it to music. On Christmas Eve, during the midnight mass at St. Nicholas Church, the two performed the tranquil song together. The organ was not working, so the only accompaniment was guitar. That was December 24, 1818.
Over the next several years, the song spread to various countries through traveling singers, missionaries, and church choirs. In the 1830s, the song became known throughout Germany, and by the 1850s, it had been translated into many languages and was popular in many countries, including the United States.
By 1914, the song was a Christmas classic throughout the Western world. Now, do you remember what was happening in the world during Christmas of 1914? World War I.
During Christmas of 1914, soldiers on both sides—specifically the British and French on one side and Germany on the other—had been locked in brutal fighting for months, living in cold, mud-filled trenches. But on Christmas Eve, something unexpected occurred. In the midst of the chaos and destruction of war, the sound of Christmas carols began to drift across the no-man’s land that separated the opposing armies. German soldiers started singing “Stille Nacht”—Silent Night—on their side. To their great surprise, the British soldiers recognized the song. They joined in, singing in English. Slowly, the two sides laid down their weapons and came together in the middle of the battlefield. They shared stories, exchanged gifts, and even played soccer together. For just a few hours, the war seemed to fade away as peace broke out in the most unlikely place. This event has gone down in history as the “Christmas Truce” of 1914.
This incredible moment of peace during the Christmas Truce is a powerful story—it’s a glimpse of what the prophet Micah foretold in the passage we read together a moment ago. Micah writes of the coming of a future ruler who will bring peace that extends beyond borders and divides—calling this deliverer “the one of peace.”
The world in Micah’s time was full of conflict and fear, much like the trenches of World War I. Micah lived around 700 years before Jesus, during a time when Israel was a divided kingdom. There was the northern kingdom, called Israel, and the southern kingdom, Judah. The big threat hanging over both of them was the Assyrian Empire, which was the most powerful nation in the region at the time.
Micah’s message came during a time of tremendous political chaos, social unrest, and spiritual messiness. Both Israel and Judah were struggling with corruption, greed, and idolatry—especially among the rich and powerful. The leaders weren’t just making poor decisions, they were exploiting the poor, turning away from God, and allowing injustice to run rampant.
Micah spent his ministry calling out these wrongs and warning that judgment was coming. But he also offered hope, speaking of a time when God would restore and bring peace, even in the midst of the mess.
This peace would come in the form of one who would be born in Bethlehem. He would be as a shepherd—one who would lead with strength—bringing peace not just to Israel, but to the whole world.
Christians understand that prophecy to be fulfilled through the person of Jesus, the Christ.
And yet, it doesn’t seem that the birth of Jesus brought the peace that Micah foretold, does it? At this moment in time:
· There is war between Ukraine and Russia.
· There is war between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah.
· There is civil war in Syria.
The Geneva Academy says that there are over 45 armed conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, more than 35 armed conflicts in Africa, 21 armed conflicts in Asia, 7 armed conflicts in Europe, 6 armed conflicts in Latin America.[1]
Thankfully, we have no conflict in North America (she says tongue-in-cheek).
Given all of these current conflicts as well as the history of the world riddled with one war after another, we might be tempted to ask: “Did Jesus bring ‘peace on earth,’ as the angels and prophets foretold? Because looking at the state of the world, I don’t see it.”
I want to suggest that the answer is “yes”—but not in the way we might expect.
When Micah talks about “the one of peace” in today’s passage, he’s not talking about a “peace bomb” that magically ends all wars or fixes every problem overnight. Instead, he’s talking about a deeper, more profound peace—a “peace flow” that starts in our hearts and works its way out into the world.
Jesus didn’t come to set up a kingdom with swords and armies. He came to challenge the broken systems that keep people divided, to teach us a new way of living—one built on love, forgiveness, and justice. When Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” he was showing us that peace isn’t just the absence of global conflicts. It’s not even the absence of local conflicts. Peace is an internal state of being that manifests externally in the way we treat one another, in the way we stand up for the oppressed, in the way we seek reconciliation over revenge.
Yes, we still see wars and conflicts in the world, and sometimes it can feel like the peace of Christ is far away. But the peace Jesus brought when he came as “the one of peace”—that peace is absolutely still around, not “out there,” but “in here”—in your heart and mine. It’s that same peace that nudges us to love our enemies, to forgive, to care for the poor, to be a voice for justice. Every time we live out those values, we bring a little more of that heavenly peace into our broken world.
So, as we look at the world around us—at the struggles, the pain, and the division—we’re reminded that Jesus, “the one of peace,” has already started something amazing. And we, as his followers, get to continue it. This is our calling: to be people who bring peace wherever we go, to be part of making that vision of a peaceful, just world a reality.
When we look for peace in the world, yes, it can be hard to find. We must look within, where the presence of Christ resides.
So, this week, when you find yourself anxious about the state of the world—maybe when you’re watching the news, or reading news, or listening to news—turn off the TV, set down the iPad—and see if you can tap into that deep reservoir of peace inside you—that place where the very Spirit of God dwells. Friends, locating that reservoir of peace within might very well save you one day. So, practice now, so that you’ll be a pro when that day comes.
“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”
—Unknown
[1] https://geneva-academy.ch/galleries/today-s-armed-conflicts#:~:text=This%20is%2C%20in%20numbers%2C%20the,Turkey%2C%20Yemen%20and%20Western%20Sahara.