Sunday, Dec. 22, is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Mass readings: Micah 5:1-4a; Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45.

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we are close to the unfolding of the great mystery of the Word made flesh. We do well to pause and ponder what is taught to us today about the salvation that is to unfold. The first reading from Micah has four themes: humility, hardship, headship and healing.

The text begins, “And you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.”

Of all the towns and villages in the land of Judah, one of the lowliest was Bethlehem. Bethlehem remains lowly, troubled and humble, yet it was here that our Savior chose to be born. He did not choose nearby Jerusalem, distant Rome or any great imperial city. Here, one must descend steep, narrow steps into a cave, and once inside one must stoop lower still, kneeling on the floor, to touch the place where Christ was born. A lowly place in a lowly village — this is where Christ was born.

As the text continues, “Therefore, the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne.” Our condition without Christ is grave. We are given over to sin and to our own fruitless and self-destructive tendencies. Thus, we learn of the gravity of our condition: We cannot save ourselves.

The text goes on to speak of our Savior, our shepherd and our head: “Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God.”

Our Savior will be both God and man. He is God, for his origin is from of old, from ancient times (also Hebrews 7:3). He also saves us “by the strength of the Lord.” Yet he is also one of us, for the text speaks of him as acting in the name of the Lord, “his God.” He must be God in order to have the power to save us, and he must also be one of us in order to speak and act on our behalf.

The text goes on to say, “and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.”

Jesus’ essential task is not simply a personal healing for me alone or for you alone. It is also healing that removes the divisions within and among us. The Lord Jesus Christ and the truth he proclaims are to be the source of our unity. Every other form of peace is not a true or lasting peace.

He shall be our peace.