December 23, 2024

Today's Reading: Micah 5:2-5a

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:25-44:20; Revelation 11:1-19

“And he shall be their peace…” (Micah 5:5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Bethlehem. House of bread. There’s peace there. Pay attention. Not just to look back but to look forward, too. It’s easy to sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” to read a verse out of context in Micah, and connect the dots that Jesus was born to fulfill a prophecy. He is the one who, after hundreds of years of silence from prophets, appears to speak. He is the one promised from days of old. He is the one who shepherds the flock of the LORD. He is our peace. 

But if all you see is a Jesus who fulfilled the prophecies of old, where is He now? Where is the peace He is supposed to be? Your pastor holds it up on Sunday mornings and tells you. He sings, “The peace of the Lord be with you,” as he holds up the chalice and the host, the Body and Blood of the very same Christ. Bethlehem. House of bread. There’s peace here. For you. The Christ born in the house of bread doesn’t just fulfill old promises. It makes new ones. You’ll see them fulfilled every Lord’s Day. Every feast day. Honestly, whenever you ask your pastor to feed you.  

Because we still need shepherding. We still need Immanuel. We still need God with us, even to the ends of the earth. We need the place to dwell securely. We don’t just need prophecies fulfilled. We need them fulfilled for us. So you can find your peace in bread. Christ is present there to forgive you your sins, to tie you to the victory over the grave, to grant to you the security that sin, death, and the power of the devil are dashed to pieces against. Go to Communion. Eat and drink the Body and Blood of the Christ born in Bethlehem. There’s peace there. And it’s for you. 

 In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Immanuel! (LSB 361:4)

-Rev. Harrison Goodman, content executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

What makes a church "good?" Come join the fictional family as they test out eight different churches in their brand-new town and answer this question along the way. Will the Real Church Please Stand Up? by Matthew Richard, now available from Concordia Publishing House.