Joy in Belief

OT: Micah 5:1-4
NT: Luke 1:26-45

I'm reading from Luke 1 verses 44 and 45
44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.

Today is the last Sunday of Advent. Four candles are now lit and we are 2 days away from Christmas day. Let us pray!

The Old Testament reading for today is a messianic promise from the prophet Micah. Micah was one of the foremost prophets active in the 8th century BCE, around the time of the Assyrian Captivity. He was able to see the many sins of the people of Israel like idolatry, seizure of property, failure of civil leadership, unholy sacrifices, and corruption to point out a few. He was quick to point out the coming judgement of God which was inevitable because of their sinful behavior. In fact, most of the book of Micah talks about this judgement. And yet, almost in the centre of this book, we have this beautiful passage of hope, a passage speaking of the coming of a future ruler, from the line of David who shall redeem and restore Israel.

This Messianic passage in Micah 5: 1-4 corresponds in more than one way to the story of the birth of Christ in our New Testament passage in Luke.

To begin with, we have the reference to Bethlehem, the city of David, from where Christ was to be born too as we see in Luke chapter 2. Next we have the reference to the birth through the labor of a mother in verse 3, corresponding to Mary in Luke.  And we also have references to the majesty of this baby who is to be born. He is from of old, from ancient days and he will rule over Israel from the throne of David.

And yet,
the most fascinating aspect of these two passages is when we come to realize how Jesus was the perfect fulfilment of prophecy and how his birth was foretold long before he was born, almost 8 centuries! We sing about it, we are excited about it and yet, sometimes we gloss over the fact that there is definitely something beyond all the pomp and glory of the fulfilment of this prophecy!

A few years ago, I used to worship in a charismatic church in Chennai. We had a church camp on one occasion and I was a part of it. So they generally have a resource person for this and this person happened to be gifted in prophecy. There were special one on one sessions arranged with this pastor where he'd pray and prophecy over. This was a tradition. So I gathered details from others on how it would go just in case I get called in. Lo and behold! I was called in at one point and after sharing greeting with each other, he prayed over me. He knew I was a part of the worship team and he prophesied saying, "Throngs of people will worship God as you lead them in worship!" I still remember that episode for that one word "Throngs". Jokes apart, this episode keeps coming back into my memory from time to time. I have no desire in leading thousands of people in worship, nor do I see it happen at any point in my life! And that's that. That's my human condition.

I'm sure each one of us sitting here has similar experiences!

Unbelief, Uncertainty, Doubt, are all a part of our human nature. In the case of the Incarnation, we’re talking about centuries of waiting for the messiah, centuries of reading the prophets and waiting in anticipation of a ruler who would deliver the people from bondage and captivity. I’m not sure if it was an easy pill for Mary to swallow when she received the news from the angel Gabriel. Scripture tells us that Mary was perplexed and fear engulfed her! She was, as a matter of fact, arguing with the angel before she finally submitted and said, “Be it unto me according to your word!” We must also never forget the similar dilemma Joseph went through. We see in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 19 that Joseph wanted to dismiss Mary quietly on hearing that she was conceived with a child. He too was in fear! Fear, Unbelief, Uncertainty, Doubt, are indeed a part of our human existence and Mary and Joseph were definitely not exempt from it.

We live today in a day and age where truth is very subjective. There is a growing aversion to religion, faith, and any sort of submission to a higher moral authority. People want to make their own choices and seldom look out for the interests of others. In the academic field, we even call today’s world as a post-truth world or a post-belief or post-faith world. In this context, how do we talk about “joy in belief?”

I say, we must talk about Joy in Belief!

The New Testament Greek word for believe is “pisteuo” which means “to be convinced of something.” The Old Testament Hebrew word for believe is “aman” and is even more dense in meaning. It means to be “solidly fixed in place, not subject to change or revision”.

The first occurrence of the word in the Old testament is Genesis 15:6 which reads “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” We see how the first act of relating to God is an act of belief”.

The first occurrence of the word in the New Testament is Mark 1:15 where Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; Repent and Believe in the Gospel!”

To believe is the primary call of every Christian!

Dearly beloved, if it was not for Mary who believed that what was said to her by God would come to pass, we do not know if the Incarnation would have taken place in such a manner! It was the belief of Mary and Joseph that brought Christ into this world! It was the belief of the disciples of Jesus who repented and preached the good news of Jesus. It was the belief of the early church that made them write accounts of the Jesus event and spread it to the ends of the world. When tensions and heresies arose in the first few centuries of the Common Era, it was the church fathers who formulated creeds which served as belief statements for the people to stick to orthodox belief. These creeds have kept the Christian message alive till this day! The Apostles' Creed, the Nicene  Creed, the Athanasian Creed, all point out to the belief in this One true God! It all began with that one step of belief from Mary, who was called blessed among women and the mother of our Lord!

There was joy surrounding the birth of Christ because of belief! Today, as we look back at this amazing story of Incarnation and the prophecy of Micah, let us be reminded that God gave us a gift in the form of a child Not because we deserve him, but merely because we need him! 

What then is orthodox belief?

It is the belief in this God of love who gave his only Son for this broken world to redeem it and to transform it! It is this love that we believe and celebrate joyfully. This was the reason why the baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped with joy on hearing the news that Mary believed and was willing to participate in bringing the Son of God to this world!

Well, we know all of this, but the question remains! 

Why should we believe? Especially at a time such as this?

The word Micah roughly translates into the phrase “Who is a God like you?” This question is also a note on which the prophecy of Micah ends in Micah 7:18. Micah says “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression of the remnant of your possession?” Quite intriguing, isn’t it?

Now as we know the Bible is one big story of a covenant between God and human beings. God first initiates and establishes this covenant with the first humans Adam and Eve and to their children and so on and so forth and eventually with the peoples of the earth. But, as we keep reading the Bible, we see fall after fall, failure after failure on the part of human beings in keeping their end of the covenant!

But, and this is a big negation, the God of the Bible is a God of love, more specifically, a God of steadfast love! Therefore, we see God pardoning the people on multiple occasions and bailing them out from difficult circumstances, taking the blow on behalf of the people, and giving them a second chance. This is where Jesus steps in! This God is so strange! This God is peculiar! And this exactly is the realization of the prophet Micah when he exclaims "Who is a God like you!" It is this God we believe! 

Don't we want to believe in such a God? Don't we want to celebrate belief in this God of love?

Let us celebrate this God who came to Earth and became the least of us so that he'd be exalted among us. He came in the form of a baby to call us to a life that is holy and acceptable and always at the service of God and others! He broke into this world to free us from all forms of bondage and to give us life in fullness. This Christmas, may we all rejoice in this belief! May we take time to reflect upon our faith and its heritage. May we experience the grace and of God like never before and may we spread the love of God like never before!

All glory be to God. Amen.