“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 labour 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.” (Micah 5:2-5)  You have to admit, it is hard to read this passage without hearing the tune in your head!  In your mind’s eye, you note the silence, the dark streets and perhaps the faint glimmer of a light from the cattle shed.  We might be tempted to wax nostalgic here and think about children’s choirs and Christmas programs.  But, that would do a disservice to the prophet and to ourselves as well.  And the reason for that is that the earth-shattering is occurring in this prophecy.  The promised King is coming!  He will right all wrongs and perhaps most amazing of all, this new King born in an unexpected place will do his conquering through peace.  The little Lord has come to wage war against all that would harm you, all your fears, all your troubles.  You and I know that he is conquering us when we enter into his peace.  Do you know anyone, particularly at this time of year, who needs to know that Christ is for him or her and wants to bring them peace?  Do you need to know that again, yourself?   My prayer for you and me is that the hopes and fears of all our years will be met in him, not only at Christmas, but always.  Merry Christmas!