Roots

When completing some application  forms, I have to state that my place of birth was Shanghai, China. In some cases, I also have to reveal my father's place of birth, which was Madras, India. These facts do not support my claim to be a British citizen, in some circles. My origins appear too much like an economic migrant.
But in many traditional communities, your place of birth reveals significant information about your family and your social status. Hence, ancient prophesies about the longed for ruler for the troubled people of Judah required that he was going to come from Bethlehem, where the much loved David was born. So, Micah writing in about 750BC, states, ' But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.  And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world. And he will be the source of peace.' (Micah 5.2,4,5a)
As we shall see, as the story unfolds, Jesus was only born there because of the dictates of the tyrannical Roman Emperor. How extraordinary that while under the same external constraints that all of us face, Jesus is able to make a difference for people like us. That is not because of his physical birth in Bethlehem, but because of his divine origins. Lets us rest ourselves in him.
Best wishes,
Richard