“Set Out”
Micah 5:2-9 Luke 1:39-45
You’ve all seen them…signs outside churches that have large changeable letters. Sometimes they tell of a schedule of church events…including special holiday activities. Others contain a verse from the Bible or advice for living. Often they poke fun at the news or newsmakers. Occasionally they provide a new perspective. I saw a photo of one this week that did all of those things…spoke to a special holiday activity…contained advice for living…poked fun at some newsmakers and provided a new perspective. The sign contained these words…”Christmas – the story of a Middle Eastern family seeking refuge.” Like Matthew the sign may have played a little loose with the important point…but hear the message of that sign once again…”Christmas – the story of a Middle Eastern family seeking refuge.” In his zeal to prove that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah the gospel writer Matthew took some liberties with the prophecies that are in the Old Testament. Today’s selection from Micah shows one of those liberties. The selection from Micah does…however…give us great hope and challenge. Matthew used the phrase from Micah…”one who is to rule in Israel”…to reference the infant Jesus Christ in chapter two of Matthew’s gospel. There is a pretty good argument to support that was not what the prophet intended. Micah’s prophecy was given just before the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem in 701 B. C. Israel had strong rulers that ultimately broke that siege long before Jesus was born. Micah was speaking to a frightened… confused…and nearly broken nation. What he was trying to do was give them hope and courage. The challenge that Micah faced was not greatly different from the world in which we live today. Today’s believers must be in the forefront of guiding their communities toward eliminating the fear and injustices that so seriously affect the social… economic…and political life of our nation and the world. That kind of biblical leadership starts with a significant change in each person’s desires and actions. Then…and only then…it spreads to every fiber of every relationship we have in our homes…our churches…our work…and our play. Loving mercy…acting justly…and walking courageously and closely with God…are not just possible options that a person might want to consider…they are the heart and soul of pleasing God and truly serving His people. In Micah’s day there were leaders who had the trappings of religious people….they looked and acted religious…they even claimed to trust God…but their unjust behavior showed their true character. And…when it came to crunch time…when things were looking like they would change radically…they were not true community or national leaders whose trust was in God. Their first concern was themselves. Their over-riding question was “What’s in it for me?” One of the commentators on Micah…Gary V. Smith…a professor of Old Testament at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary…wrote this…”In times of great social and economic change…special responsibility is placed on governments to help the weak. A complicating factor is the added pressure war places on the wealthy…who now struggle to maintain their lifestyles.” Micah complained about the violence and deceitfulness of the wealthy and the use of improper scales by businessmen cheating their clients. Politicians, judges and the powerful in society were shedding innocent blood, taking bribes, and scheming to take advantage of others. Social distrust grew so bad that one had to be careful what one said to a friend and even to a spouse or children. This was not a pleasant time to live in Judah…and it was especially difficult to be a prophet of God. How similar is our life today? Micah knew that if he was going to do what God wanted…he had to speak the truth in love. He had to have courage to reach his goal of causing people to recognize their own sinfulness. Only then would he be able to lead them to the point where they would allow God to transform their lives. How well do we recognize that today? How well do we …speak the truth in love? It’s always easy to see the evil and injustice in the behavior of others. Many people can tell of a situation in which they were personally cheated or unfairly treated…or they can tell stories about injustices they have heard on TV or from friends. It is not hard to get people to agree that the injustices against them are wrong. They personally feel the sting of being unfairly treated. It is much more difficult to get people interested in the broader issue of God’s view of the proper relationships between the rich and powerful and the poor and powerless. This is partly because most people compare themselves to others around them and do not feel as if they are rich or powerful. Also, some feel that a good portion of the poor are lazy and prefer to just collect money from the government. In spite of prejudice or misunderstanding…people do need to think about the broad roles government should play in regulating fair economic activity, caring for the poor, and protecting the rights of all people. But…these are not issues to be left to the political and social leaders of the community, state and nation. We who call ourselves Christians should be concerned and active about the issues of social justice that are part of public policy. These issues are not some impersonal problem that some unnamed persons in government should correct. These policies affect people’s welfare and should be the interest of every person…not just those in the political class…the politicians…commentators… lobbyists and special interest groups. For we Christians this should be doubly important. The Bible repeatedly places God on the side of the poor and against the wealthy and powerful. God fought against the Egyptians and delivered his people from oppression in Egypt. He destroyed his own people who crushed the heads of the poor into the ground. He promised to punish those who turned away the needy and robbed the poor of what little they had. Proverbs 14:31 claims that “he who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. God was particularly concerned about the disadvantaged widows…orphans and strangers…all of whom can be easily cheated and oppressed. Jesus showed his concern for the poor by encouraging people to invite not just their friends for dinner, but to invite the lame, blind and poor as well. Our concern should not be solely the arrangement of order and quiet in our society. We should also be concerned about those who twist and pervert even the finest system of ensuring just relationships among people. The Bible does not reject a system that allows for the ownership of property or claim that the wealthy are an evil consequence of a certain economic system. Fair…respectful and appropriate measures are available in most societies to deal with justice issues…but all too often individuals willfully misuse, ignore or reject these social mechanisms to further their own selfish interests. In this process the natural human rights of others are trampled underfoot and oppression takes place. The Bible does give some broad principles of relationships that may help some of our thinking. Concerning economic factors there are two fundamental principles that Christians should remember. First, God is the real owner of the land, all property and possessions, not the earthly person using what God truly owns. These are gifts from God to us…not earned rewards or rights that we deserve and can control in any way we wish. It is God who gives people the ability to earn wealth. Secondly, in Bible times God was much involved in putting limits on economic activity and gave regulations as guidelines for ordering the social and economic relationships between people. Those guidelines still apply today…a time when wealth and income inequality are at their greatest in modern history. Jesus Christ and John Wesley took their ministries to those whom God favored in the social…economic and political systems of their day. Are we taking our ministry to the same people? It’s quite easy to sit at home and complain, ignore or claim no ability to influence the outcome. As people God has set apart it is time for us to set out to be in social justice ministry as did John Wesley…the prophet Micah…and the babe whose birth we celebrate? Returning to the message on the church sign…I leave you with this question. In this time of celebration of God’s gift to us…to whom and how will each of us provide needed refuge…refuge from loneliness…refuge from hunger…refuge from anger…refuge from hurt…refuge from injustice… refuge from the ravages of war…refuge that provides the love… warmth…kindness…joy and hospitality that God provided us with the gift of a Savior. Let us set out today…to make Christmas the story of providing refuge.