The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Last week we listened to the words of the prophet Zephaniah, who spoke about God’s joy and how He sings over His redeemed. Today, we rewind the clock even further, another 100-150 years at least, to the words of the prophet Micah, who anticipates the birth of the promised Savior. All the prophets “sang in harmony,” pointing to the Messiah or Christ, along with their various individual concerns. For most of them, the threat of surrounding superpowers like Assyria and Babylon, and the invasion of Israel loomed large. No less for Micah. Micah lived alongside Isaiah, the greatest of the writing prophets. Together, Micah and Isaiah gave great witness to the coming birth of the Savior. Some of Isaiah’s most famous prophecies are of the Virgin Birth (7:14), and the child born to be the Prince of Peace (9:6). This passage in Micah 5, echoes many words of Isaiah. God’s Old Testament people longed for a Savior, a Delive...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The prophet Isaiah said, “ Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:3). The rising Light is Jesus, and His infant home of Bethlehem was bathed in miraculous starlight announcing: the King of the Jews has been born! Wise men came worshipping. Kings came to the brightness of His rising—the dawning rays of Jesus’ infant light drew joyful worship, costly gifts, and hushed awe. Why would such a birth warrant such attention? This was not a king of the Roman Empire, or any similar superpower or great nation. The Jews were a subject people, a broken nation, held firmly under the Roman yoke. King David’s royal line was reduced to nothing but the stump of a tree, by all appearances dead and defeated. Why would the birth of a new king to this tiny, defeated nation, bring any foreign dignitaries at all? What were the wise men hoping to see? Who were they and why did they c...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. It’s often said that the holidays are often marked by sharp contrasts in emotions. For some Christians, Christmas is the peak of joy and anticipation for the year, with Easter as well. And rightly so. These two Christian feasts are meant for celebration—and we aren’t going to stop celebrating Christmas yet! We can continue to revel in the joy of Christ’s birth for us, and stretch out our celebration while the world moves on and tunes out. But just as quickly as we’ve heard the marvelous Christmas gospel, we’re hit with Jesus’ narrow escape from death at the hand of Herod’s soldiers, and the brutal massacre of Bethlehem’s innocent sons. And it’s not an accident of the calendar of readings, but how Matthew himself finishes the story of Jesus’ birth and childhood. Why such a swing from amazing good news to such a grim story? Couldn’t we keep this story in the shadows, and just stick to the joyful Christmas message? ...

            Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve—the much anticipated arrival of the birth of the Christ child is almost here. Tomorrow our Christmas carols will joyfully leap from our tongues, as we “come adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord the newborn King.” But while many might already be burning out from an overdose of trite, secular Christmas music, let’s prolong our anticipation one more day, before the full tide of Christian joy and celebration pours out tomorrow and on Christmas Day. Let’s tune our ears in to hear the sacred “hymn and chant and high thanksgiving and unending praises” that the Church sings to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Let’s once more hear the voices of the prophets, chanting in one accord, promising the birth of the long-expected Jesus. Today the prophet Micah sings his haunting solo, then blends his voice to sing in tune wit...