Another interesting point is that the Arabic name for this town is “Beit Lahm,” which means, “house of meat.” So, the town of Bethlehem is known as both the “house of bread” and the “house of meat.”
When Christ was born, he was laid in a manger, which was a feeding trough for animals. (Remember, Jesus was born in a stable where animals are kept.) The theological significance of this setting is that Jesus Christ is food for the world. During the Last Supper, Jesus took bread and said “take, eat; this is my body” (Matt 26:26). His own words, as found in John 6 and in the Last Supper accounts, testify to the fact that he is true food in a sacramental way. The eternal God not only humbled himself to became a man, but he humbled himself further to become our very food!
Only with the theological virtue of faith could one have seen the eternal God as a humble newborn child. Similarly, only with that very same virtue can one see our Lord under the humble appearances of bread and wine. Today, we still call Jesus Christ our Emmanuel, for God is truly "with us." Our Lord is with us in the Sacrament most holy, the Eucharist!
