This Advent, waiting gives birth to God’s Christmas love.
God’s people have always been a people who were waiting. From the fall of Adam and Eve in Eden, God has made His promise a future promise (Genesis 3:15). The whole Old Testament is leaning towards a future day for which we must wait. When Lamech named his son Noah it was in the hope that he would rescue his people from the curse of sin and death (Genesis 5:29). It took six hundred years for Noah to come close to the shadow of that fulfillment (Genesis 7:6). God promised Abraham he would have a son (Genesis 12:2) but then He made him wait twenty-five years for the birth of that son (Genesis 21:1-3). Isaac waited twenty years for the birth of his twin sons (Genesis 25:20; 26). Jacob must work twice as long in waiting to marry Rachel (Genesis 29:20-30). Naomi must wait for her kinsman to be redeemed through Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 3:12-18). Hannah herself knew the bitterness of waiting until she was given Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1-20). Even King David had to wait before he would sit on the throne (1 Samuel 16:10-13). Waiting is something that we as a people have been familiar with since the beginning of history. God calls His people to wait for the coming of His promised Son. Today, we hold onto a text which Simeon likely held onto in the Temple. Remember how he was one who was described by Luke as “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25).
As we approach Christmas on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we hear from the prophet Micah who is waiting and filled with grief. In his day there was no “peace on earth, and goodwill to all.” No, the world was not as God intended it to be. The children of Israel in the southern kingdom of Judah were fearfully waiting the invasion of the Assyrians. While they were languishing in fear for that grim day, their own leaders in Jerusalem were making life difficult through corrupt practices. Into this anxious waiting Micah proclaims God will send a leader to set things right. However, this leader will come from a surprising place and rule in an astonishing way.
Into this anxious waiting Micah proclaims God will send a leader to set things right.
In verses 2-3, God raises up the leader from a place people would account as too small to be significant on the world’s stage. He would come from Bethlehem of Judah. But even then, they would still have to wait for the child to be delivered. The woman bearing the child needs to have borne the child for them to see their deliverance. The trouble with this waiting is it will feel apocalyptic, like Mark 13:8, but then who could remember that pain and travail of waiting once the Messiah child is here, like John 16:21. This text is perfect for bridging Advent waiting with Christmas hope. This Advent, waiting gives birth to God’s Christmas love as written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Galatia when he says:
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:4-7).
So, it is true that the birth of this long-awaited Son of God will cause all the brothers from all the nations to return to be God’s people. The waiting is over. Once we have Jesus, we have the long-awaited Son and He holds us as we hold Him until the day we will see Him again. In His return in glory, we will be like Simeon in the Temple. Taking Jesus in his arms, Simeon speaks the words which will bridge Advent over to Christmas:
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).
A thematic construction like the Analogy Structure might be useful for this sermon based on “waiting.”
“This structure introduces hearers to a theological topic by moving from the known to the unknown. The sermon is based on an act of comparison as the preacher compares a topic that is familiar to the hearers but of secondary importance (also known as the analogy or secondary topic) to the topic of primary importance which might be unfamiliar to the hearers (this is the main topic of the sermon). By doing this, the preacher moves from the familiar to the unfamiliar and allows the analogy to shed light on the theological topic. Through a listing of the points of comparison, the hearers move from the known to the unknown. Analogical preaching sometimes includes objects and often is occasional, drawing the analogy from a recent and immediate experience in the lives of the hearers.
In this structure, the secondary topic needs to (1) be familiar to the hearers so the preacher is not forced to explain two topics at once and the secondary topic might serve as a mnemonic device, (2) be of a different nature than the main topic so it incites interest for the hearers in the comparison, and (3) have a positive effect so the hearers are not offended by the comparison. Also, the preacher needs to be aware that all analogies break down and thereby prevent his hearers from falling into confusion, either by clarifying for them the limits of the analogy or avoiding development which would lead toward that error.”[1]
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Micah 5:2-5a.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Micah 5:2-5a.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Micah 5:2-5a
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast- Dr. Walter A. Maier III of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through Micah 5:2-5a.
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[1] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/thematic/analogy/
