O Little Town of Bethlehem

In Micah 5:2 we find the prophetic words, "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days."

It is the fulfillment of this prophecy that is highlighted in these lyrics:

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

I have always enjoyed the poetic quality of this verse, especially the final line of this stanza.  And I like the fact that it deals with our fears.  In one sense, we are very  right to have fears.  Not one of us is righteous and yet we all stand before a judge who demands our righteousness.  We are rightly to be condemned, every one of us, to the pains of eternal judgment.  And this is certainly worth fearing.

But for those of us who find our righteousness not in our own deeds, but in the holiness of Christ Jesus, these fears are met by hope.  Not an unfounded wish, but a confident expectation that we will be spared this judgment.  We will be spared it because the holy One of God is not just a mighty ruler and the Ancient of Days.  He is also the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and he has faced the judgment that we deserved.

And so it is that even in the dark streets of the little town of Bethlehem, a light shined on that night so many years ago.  It was no ordinary light, but an everlasting one, and so it shines on today.  As such, just as truly as Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds could have said it then, we can say it now, "The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight!"

I pray that this Christmas your fears might be met by the hope that is present in Christ Jesus.

Previous posts in this series:

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (part 1)

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (part 2)