Bethlehem Received Its Name From

Continued 👇🏾 👉🏾Bethlehem received its name from the son of Caleb, called lihem, whom Caleb had from Ephrathah. ✍🏾 Lihem means bread. This is a symbol of the Lord, the true and faithful Bread of Life, for Christ broke His flesh and shed His blood to save us. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” (John 6:51) ✍🏾 At the birth of Christ, angels joined with human beings in an extraordinary way and praised Christ the King, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) ✍🏾 The heavenly King, who is praised by angels, archangels, powers, and all the glorious heavenly hosts, today, out of love for us, embraced us with indescribable humility. He took upon Himself our human nature, except for sin, and became perfect God and perfect Man. 👉🏾 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) ✍🏾 Because of this, our love for Christ must be deepened. Let us always praise Him with all our inner and outer conscience. Saint Paul, the light of the world, reflecting on this perfect love of God for humanity fallen into sin, says in Hebrews: 👉🏾“What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You visit him? You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor, You set him over the works of Your hands, and You put all things in subjection under his feet.”(Hebrews 2:6–8) ✍🏾 We, all who are called by Christ, are to keep this love of God in our hearts and to live with humility and love toward our neighbors, as He exhorts us: ✍🏾“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:5–7) ✍🏾 This is the unity of the Church on the Lord’s Nativity. It is a house of love and unity, where all are gathered and sing together in the manger, which is the image of the Holy Church. There our Lord is found with His Mother, the aged Joseph is with the company of the righteous, and heavenly angels, shepherds, kings, and even animals are present. ✍🏾 Therefore, we, the followers of Christ, the sheep of His flock, and the children of the Church, must live in perfect unity: “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)This is why the Holy Apostle Paul teaches us. May the blessings of the birth of our Lord and God, our Savior Jesus Christ, be with us all. May the name of the Holy God be praised forever and ever in every tongue that He has created, today and always. May the blessings of God's mother, the virgin, and the cross be upon us. Amen. © John's Repentance Reach out to us on our social media platforms and share it with your friends:https://linktr.ee/johnsrepentance