The attention of all the Christian world is directed this night towards Bethlehem. It was in Bethlehem that the Son of God was born and the eternal life of God came into the world.

The name Bethlehem in the Hebrew language means "the house of bread." In ancient times, before the Israelites conquered Palestine and took over control of Jerusalem, Bethlehem was a very prosperous center of farming. Archeological discoveries have found great ovens there in which bread was made for the people living throughout the whole countryside.

This name is indeed symbolic. In this house of bread which fed the people round about came into being the spiritual bread, which was to feed the whole world. Christ said, "I am the bread of life which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world."

In this world of sin and strife we soon lose the quality of joy without which life becomes unbearable. We are torn by anxiety and fear. We cannot look at our fellow man with good will.

"Joy to the world" is the message the angels sang at the birth of our Savior. When you come to know Him as your Lord and your God then His joy becomes part of you no matter what you may face. He brings peace to your soul and enables you to reach out to others in good will.

This is what it means when we say the Christ is the Savior who came to provide nourishment for our hungry souls. It doesn't mean that He came to change the structures of life. There will always be wars and rumors of wars. There will always be sickness, old age, and death An infinite qualitative change has occurred. We now no longer face these things alone. We face them with Christ in our heart and that is all the difference. Gradually, starting with the birth of our Lord, this truth has spread throughout the whole globe. We should not expect the world to change for us. Rather, what God does through His Son Christ is to recharge our souls. He feeds our souls in the same way that bread feeds our bodies. He does this through His Holy Spirit in the simple ceremonies and services of the Church.

Last Sunday the children of our church school presented their annual Christmas pageant. Little boys and girls dressed up and played the characters of the Christmas story-- Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men. When the angels appeared on the scene there wasn't a dry eye in the church. For a moment the veil that covers reality was drawn back and we could feel a higher and purer presence greater than ourselves

When one of the little shepherd boys was walking out of the church at the conclusion of the pageant he found on the rug at the rear the halo of one of the angels. He picked it up and put it on and called out to his teacher, "The shepherd has died and I am one of the angels now."

Through the simple re-enactment of this wonderful gospel story we realize that God becomes present. Jesus told us that He would feed our souls. He will give us Himself. Tonight we have gathered to do what He commanded, to break bread in His name, and to share in that cup which represents His offering on Calvary. As the poet says, "No love but in the family dwells. No caroling in frosty air. Not all the steeple's shaking bells can with this single truth compare. That god was born in Palestine and lives today in bread and wine."

It is through faith and faith alone that we receive the body and blood of Christ into our lives. It is through faith that the blind eyes of this world are opened. It is through faith that we hear the angels sing and can know the glorious truth of our Lord's presence. It is the faith of a little child who believes in angels, who believes in heaven, and who believes in God. Behind every temporary reality of this world is God's world, which never changes, which never dies. We shall enter into that world through Christ if we believe in Him.

Christmas time can be the most difficult time of the year. Our hearts and our prayers go out to those members of the armed forces who are serving away from home. We pray also for those who have lost loved ones, who are destitute, who are homeless, and who are forgotten.

We should remember that Christmas is not our birthday. We are not celebrating ourselves. It's Christ's birthday and we are celebrating Him. He is the one who can unite all those who are separated. He can give joy and peace to those who are far away and those who are near. We are not celebrating our families on this sacred night. We are celebrating the family of God that was created through Christ when He called all men brothers and brought all mankind to Him.

May your hearts now be touched by His invisible presence that is promised to you. As you look back at that beautiful story may you believe that it was Christ who came to feed your heart so that you might live in Him and know His joy and His peace and His good will. "Wonder beyond times wonder, that bread so white and small, veiled in golden curtains too mighty for men to see, is the power that sends the shadows up this candlelit wall, is God who created the present, the throbbing heart of all. Christ, at this altar, I offer myself to thee."

Now is the opportunity that we all have to re-dedicate ourselves to Him who has come to be our Savior, who died for us so that we might live. He feeds us with His body and blood in the forms of bread and wine. May you know the joy and peace of Christmas. May you live by the almighty power of Jesus Christ, and when you die, may you, too, be like the angels in heaven who sing their eternal song.