The prophet Micah tells us the place will be Bethlehem. That’s where the descendant of David will be born. From there, He will come forth, the One who will forever rule over God’s kingdom.
We know that Bethlehem is called the town (or city) of David. What we may not know is that the name Bethlehem means “house of bread.” And that is most fitting! For the One who called Himself the bread of life was born in a town that means “house of bread.” The eternal Word of God becomes flesh, and that flesh is the life of the world. Whoever eats this bread–this flesh of the Son of God–will live forever.
That’s what Jesus said. The One who cleansed us of our sins, the One who now sits down at the right hand of the Father to rule forever, said so! What He offered for our purification was His own body, His own blood. In the manger at Bethlehem lies that One who is the Father’s final Word about us.
The angels told the awestruck shepherds, “You will find him in a manger”–a manger, mind you. That’s where cattle eat. Their owner puts food in the manger for them. And then with a single mind and with all sorts of noises, the cattle hustle to the manger to eat.
Now consider: The bread of life from heaven, Jesus Himself, is the gift to us from the God who feeds us. God Himself gives us Himself to nurture us on the food of eternal life. He gives us Himself to intoxicate us with the drink of eternal joy. Is it purely coincidental that Jesus, the Bread of Life, would be born in a town that means “house of bread”? Is it purely coincidental that Jesus, the One who says to you, “Take and eat,” would be placed in a feeding trough?
Like the shepherds, we have come to worship Him. With single minds, let us come to feast our bodies and souls at the manger of God’s Son. For it’s only in Him, the One lying in that manger, from whom pure joy streams. This gladsome morning, with focused body, soul, and spirit, cry out in amazement: “O Jesus Christ, your manger is the paradise at which I feast.”
God gives food, not only seed for birds and meat for wild animals. He gives, not only food for the stomach and drink for thirst. But this God also gives us His Word–the eternal food for our bodies and souls to live in joy forever.
Our first parents, Adam and Eve, at the dawn of time, stood before God, filled with shame. For they had burdened themselves with an unbearable debt of sin that they could never pay. Even more, they passed on this unpayable debt to their children. Yet, amid their shame and sorrow, they heard these words from God: A descendant of the woman would come to crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15).
Since that first promise, the Word of promise has been like appetizers for believing souls. In various ways and different styles, God spoke in times past by the prophets. By that Word, God fed faith and nurtured hope in His faithful people. But now, in these days of the end times, God has spoken to us by his Son.
And what a word God speaks! The coming of Jesus the Messiah is not merely the coming of the One who came at the end of days. With Jesus, the Messiah, the days of the end have come. Now is the end time, for now is the day of salvation.
Meditate on what the Holy Spirit says about Jesus in the book of Hebrews. Jesus is the heir of everything. Whatever power and riches that exist in the Word of God–Jesus is the heir, the inheritor of all that. Whatever there is of life or hope–Jesus is the heir. He is the heir and owner by right of sonship. He is not some creature to be elevated to such a position of honor. No, He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature. Indeed, He is “very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.”
Yet, even more, this small infant, Jesus, is the mighty Word by which all came into being and still exists. This God is man and our brother. This man is God and our Savior! By His Word, the entire universe still exists and serves His purpose.
Jesus is God’s “right-hand man.” He is the arm that God bares when He rolls up His sleeve to fight to save us. Sitting at God’s right hand, Jesus rules by the forgiveness of sins for your benefit, for your blessing, for your joy in eternal life. In that manger is the man of God’s right hand, coming to us because we could not come to Him.
He enters our human reality in human flesh, a naked and helpless infant. His mother needs to feed Him. His parents need to change His diapers. His parents need to wrap Him in homemade blankets to protect Him from the cold. He will even have to go to the distant land of Egypt when King Herod will try to kill Him.
Yes, this Jesus, our Savior, willingly enters our flesh to make a sacrifice, a sacrifice that will save the lives of the condemned brothers and sisters He joins. The sacrifice will not be some other creature–some goat or bull. Nor will he, as some do, sacrifice the child of their bodies for the sin of their bodies. He does not use another for such a sacrifice. He is the priest who offers Himself as the sacrifice.
He sits at God’s right hand. He did not get to this throne of power through political intrigue. He did not rise to this rule merely by outlasting His opponents, or out-campaigning His competitors. He sits at God’s right hand as the man from God who paid the price for our salvation. He is the One whom the Father raised from the dead to rule everything for the Church.
Luther’s hymn, “Now Sing We, Now Rejoice” says it well:
Now through His Son doth shine the Father’s grace divine. Death was reigning o’er us through sin and vanity till He opened for us a bright eternity. May we praise Him there! May we praise Him there! (LSB 386:3)
Indeed, praise Him! The Holy Spirit clearly teaches us, in the reading today from Hebrews, to worship Him alone. The shepherds give you the perfect example. Listen to the Holy Spirit, and follow that example.
Oh, where shall joy be found? Where but on heavenly ground? He from whom joy streams lies in this manger in Bethlehem–the house of bread.
Did I say Bethlehem? Yes, I did. But don’t think you must now travel to the Holy Land. Your house of bread, your Bethlehem, is where the Bread of Life comes to feed you. Jesus’ birth in human flesh and the blood of the Son of God is at the core of this astounding wonder.
Here, inside Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, by His own Word, this Lord exercises the power of God’s right hand. His right hand is wherever He is with His sure Word of grace to give and to do for you what He has promised. The priest of the sacrifice of the cross is alive to give to you the benefits of His sacrifice. He brings to you–in this lowly place–the body of your redemption and the blood of your forgiveness. Here, is the manger of Jesus to feed your body and soul into eternity.
He is begotten eternally of the Father. He is God’s Son by birthright. He is born of Mary for me and you, we who were born under the cancerous death of sin. By Him, you are begotten anew–born from above–to be sons of God by right of His rightness. The feast is for you.
So, come to the feast, for all is now ready. The days of the end are here. Now, fully and for all time, God has spoken by His Son. The manger in which He lies among us is, indeed, the paradise at which we feast for our salvation.
Your paradise is that manger of Jesus, where He feeds you. There, you rest in heavenly peace. There, you feast contentedly, even though there may be conflict and turmoil, temptation and sin, confusion and struggle, and failure around and within you. But that matters not. For where He feasts with you and where you live with Him, Jesus turns that place into paradise for you. Amen.
