• BAD NEWS / GOOD NEWS – Whenever and wherever traditional lessons and carols are performed, Micah 5 is sure to be present.  Such good news of O Little Town of Bethlehem however, is preceded by bad news—Jerusalem is under siege and her king has been humiliated (5:1).  Against that dire background comes the contrast of one who will emerge from a tiny rural outpost to rule over and provide security for Israel.
• LIMITED SUFFERING – The phrase may be puzzling, but “he shall give them up until the time” (5:3) most probably refers to the people of Israel being allowed to suffer, though for a limited time, at the hand of their enemies.  The first limit is expressed with the image of a woman in labor (4:9-10); the second limit is expressed in terms of the return of the exiles.[1]
• LEO THE GREAT [440-461] – ‘Herod, you are trapped in a useless fear.  In vain do you attempt to rage against the child you suspect.  Your realm does not encompass Christ, nor does the Lord of the world care about the meager limits which you wield the rod of your power.’[2]

• Recall a time when you “overheard” a conversation on the telephone.  How accurately were you able to piece together the conversation upon being told? 
• In a sense, that’s what many of us do with Micah—we overhear a conversation that was addressed to a particular people living in a particular time and place.  God will finally send them some decent rulers to relieve their terrible situation, defeat their enemies, provide security for the future, and rule with some integrity. 
• Though we aren’t the first audience of Micah’s words, how might our questions and our sins be similar to his original listeners?  How do we need a word of warning and a glimmer of hope beyond our own present trouble?

Though we should end up with Christian hope wrapped up in the babe in Bethlehem during this final week of Advent, we would do well to begin quite far from there. 

• Begin not with a babe in a manger but with the dire context of a nation facing dismemberment and a ruler who is shamed and publicly humiliated.  Set the unfamiliar historical context before moving to the familiar.
• Suggest how we can overhear this passage for a new context—point out our own questions and sins that are remarkably similar to the first intended audience.  You might want to recall several “overhearing the gospel” incidents to help listeners understand what it means to overhear.
• Move finally to how Christian faith (not to mention Matthew’s use of this lesson) reinterprets our story of Jesus. 
• How can we continue to overhear God’s faithful promises to / through us in ever new and unexpected contexts?