Let Us Go To Bethlehem

"Bethlehem" means "the House of Bread." On this Christmas Eve, we are invited by this miracle to learn what it means to eat what will forever satisfy!

Tonight’s the night!

And my girls are thrilled to go to bed after Liturgy this evening!

Why?

Not because it’s bedtime, but because after Liturgy in the morning, we’re going to open presents, eat sweets, and generally celebrate! It is the most wonderful time of the year on many levels!

But, for me, the prayers, the liturgy, and the worship capture my attention and joy.

For most of my life, Christmas was 24 hours of frenzied activity. I spent most of it with family and never at church unless (rarely) December 25th fell on a Sunday. Even then, I’ve seen pastors “cancel” service “so that people can be with their families!” Yeah, I know. It confuses me, too, now.

I guess it’s because I am joyful to discover the timeless way the Faith, once and for all delivered to the saints, is meant to “Christianize” everything in our lives.

In addition, the revelation of what happens on Christmas Day has overwhelmed me, as did the news that motivated the shepherds in our Gospel Lesson today.

Look at our lesson today in Luke 2:1-20:

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

You see, these simple shepherds had been visited by an angel that had told them the One they and their people had been waiting for centuries was born in Bethlehem (by the way, it’s no mistake that the city’s name means “House of Bread” in Hebrew!). So how did they respond? By going and seeing and then worshipping and telling. In other words, they didn’t keep the news to themselves!

And that’s where we come in.

The lesson we learn from the shepherds is that witnessing God's enfleshing for our sakes isn’t enough; we have to keep going!

First, we must appreciate what we are witnessing as best we can! And what we see is the greatest Mystery of all: The Bread that came down from Heaven came to the “House of Bread” to become Bread, which was finally meant to satisfy the most profound and truest hunger every human has ever had! Nothing less than the Uncreated God taking Flesh for our sakes so He can reverse the mistakes of Adam by becoming the Second Adam and destroying sin, death, and Satan for all of us and each of us!

Next, after we’ve grasped the event, the only honest response is worship! No wonder the Church gives us the Royal Hours of Christmas in the morning today, then the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil tonight, then the Christmas Liturgy tomorrow morning, and then the Synaxis of the Theotokos the next day! Worship is the ONLY honest response that shows you’ve really got the message, the event. And that is for our healing as well, so we never reduce God’s love for us to merely a utilitarian meeting of our needs that leaves us self-centered and “dead” inside. No, we respond with joy and slack-jawed adoration and wonder at the love God has and continues to have for us!

Finally, the only honest response to our worship is not to keep this joy to ourselves! The shepherds recognized this and “made known” what they had witnessed. So, too, we are called to share this joy with everyone. And that makes sense if we’ve grasped the Event we celebrate.

If you had a way to ensure no one around you would ever be hungry again, would you keep it to yourself? Well, you do! You have the Good News that God has come to satisfy our deepest hunger, and you know where the “Bread” is! Don’t keep it to yourself!

Today, we enter the season of Christmas, and for 12 days, we will bask in God’s love for us. Enjoy your family. Feast and make merry. Do all those things that allow you to celebrate, love, and rejoice! Just don’t forget to be a Normal Orthodox Christian!

P.S. As the fruit of David's seed, Mary was registered of old with the Elder Joseph in the little town of Bethlehem, when she conceived with a seedless and pure conception. Behold, the time was come that she should bear her Child, but no place was found within the inn for them; yet the cave proved a delightful palace for the pure Lady and Queen of all. For Christ is born now to raise the image that had fallen aforetime.

Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV

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