Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
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Luke 2:4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
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Bethlehem was a small town. Like many elements in the Christmas story, it was ordinary, unimpressive and small. In the birth of Christ we can extract many lessons. A reoccurring theme throughout the Bible is that God can do great things through ordinary, even flawed people, or through paltry resources. God loves to take the something unassuming and make something wondrous out of it.
Why does He do this? The answer is found over and over in Scriptures. But perhaps the best explanation is His Glory. When it is obvious that man is not the powerful, wonderful element, God shines through in His Glory.
2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
So for me, when I feel small and insignificant, I must realize that God can use me just as I am.
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
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The following Sundays in Advent follow different traditions with different churches. Sometimes the sequence is Bethlehem, Shepherds, Angels. Or Love, Joy, Peace. I have decided for the Sunday candles to follow Bethlehem, Shepherds and Angels and Love, Joy Peace during the week.
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The above photo was taken in November in Rhodes, Greece, in the old city. It reminds me of what the streets of Bethlehem looked like when I visited there in the late 90s.
