Becoming One

God's childrenAdvent
December 14, 2015

Scripture Reading: Micah 5:2-5a

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.

 If I counted right, I have 42 first cousins on my father’s side of the family some of them around my father’s age. I have two first cousins on my mother’s side. Therein, lies the difference in a larger clan and a smaller clan. Funny, because I was raised nearer to my father’s family, I know that massive flock of 42 better than the two from another state. They lived about three times the same distance from where my family lived as Nazareth is from Bethlehem. We, of course drove, rather than walked or road on a donkey, to visit. We made the trip a couple of times each year, often at Christmas. My Dad’s clan rented one of the buildings at the fair ground for its family reunion. My Mom’s family fit nicely in my grandmother’s house. Bethlehem was the ancestral home of King David and it is surprising that it was a small clan. How many wives did Solomon have?

Micah is taking us back to the roots of Israel scattered throughout the known world described as lost tribes. Micah foresees the children of God reunited as one again and led by one coming from a very small clan, one without a natural force of relatives from which to form a mighty army. Micah understands the breadth of God’s peace and nurture as the strength of God’s people. We should also.

Prayer: Lord, help us invest our lives in being a part of your peace and your nurture as we welcome all of your children to your reunion. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.