Micah 5:2-5a

Micah is a mixed bag. It can almost feel frenetic. A short text, only 7 chapters, the author holds in tension God’s strict judgment for wickedness, injustice, and oppression with God’s keeping the covenant with Judah, God’s compassion, and God’s maintenance of a remnant. Micah jumps from judgment to remnant and from compassion to punishment faster than you could think.

A contemporary of Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea, Micah writes during the assault of the Assyrians. While Isaiah may declare that peace and blessing will come to Assyria (Isaiah 19), Micah doesn’t share that sentiment. Granted, Micah has a ton of judgment for Samaria and Judah, why wouldn’t he for Judah’s enemies?

If the preacher doesn’t read all of Micah in preparation this week, I’d encourage her to at least read the section headings. Even a quick glance gives us the context for this oracle’s proclamation of a coming ruler from Bethlehem.

First, we see that the Ruler from Bethlehem will come not just to save Jerusalem/Judah from foreign powers but from herself. Jerusalem has enough wickedness of her own! From bribery to oppression Israel needs reform. These foreign invaders are God’s “punishment” against Judah in the sense that God has created goodness and justice and peace as the ethic of the covenant. When people live lives of wickedness, injustice, and violence they choose other than God. This internal chaos opens them up to foreign invaders.

Justice and equity create healthy and strong communities that are less prone to invasion.

What Micah taught 2700 years ago about the health of the system of the nation we have learned in the last 150 years about the health of our immune system.

Some of the most evil ailments are those that attack the human immune system; from HIV/AIDS to cancer, when the immune system is damaged it isn’t the disease itself that kills, but a weaker, typically avoidable, sickness that the body can no longer fight. Unless the immune system is functioning well, the body is susceptible to foreign invaders.

The difficult lesson we learn from the immune system (and Micah) is that health comes not from avoiding germs, but from exposure to them! Avoiding all exposure actually weakens the immune system.

So it is with Jerusalem. She had avoided the hard conversations about injustice and equity. Rather than do the hard work to improve the health of the system, she has avoided it and permitted bribery and injustice.

Judah is heading down a path of sure destruction; if not from her own devices from a foreign invader she could have avoided if she were healthy.

And this is the framework for the oracle about the ruler from Bethlehem. Judah needed salvation. Salvation from Assyria and Egypt and Babylon, sure, but salvation from foreign entities comes from salvation from self-delusion. The one from Bethlehem, the one of peace, will come to make Judah well.

The prophet tells his readers that the one from Bethlehem is the ancient one, from of old. This is not a throwback to former times, the messiah will do an ew thing, but he is one who knows the covenant and hasn’t forgotten it. His remembering the covenant will make Judah well.

The coming of this one from Bethlehem will not be easy, but will be through labor. The path towards well will be painful, but good and filled with life.

This one from Bethlehem will make the nation well; he will feed them. I can’t not think of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride in a drunken stupor being made well by his dear friend Fezzik. It’s kind of violent, but it makes him well.

This one from Bethlehem is, well, from Bethlehem. Not Jerusalem.

Preacher, should you choose to preach from this (not so) minor prophet, can you speak towards the well being of your congregation as the one from Bethlehem is coming to us again?

I’m inclined to think that many of us have become complacent in our own spiritual well being. We’ve neglected the hard work of caring for our own spiritual immune system and are susceptible to foreign invaders.

Perhaps, even, our churches have become coopted by the foreign invaders of nationalism, consumerism, segregation, or other foreign invaders. If this is the case it’s most likely because we’ve neglected the hard conversations that would strengthen our immune system.

Preacher, can you proclaim in the midst of wickedness and selfishness and injustice (it’s real easy to find in our world, no?) that one is coming to make well? One not from Jerusalem, but from Bethlehem.