Home for the Holidays

Seeing the Church as the true Bethlehem

12/19/2021

Mi 5:1-4a Thus says the LORD: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.

This year my father turned 87 years old, and do you know what his only wish is? He wants to go back to India, his home, where he grew up, where he spent his youth, where he met our mother, and they got married, and where he raised his children. But it is getting harder and harder for my father to travel, so I am not sure how we will get him home again anytime soon. The last several times we have returned to India, he always says, “You know, this is probably the last time I will get to go to India, so we better go.” He has said that like ten times, and I fall for it every time!

Saturday morning we had the funeral for Dr. Morris Richardson, who was also 87 years old like my dad. He grew up here at I.C. and attended grade school here, but he spent the better part of his life in Houston. After retiring from family practice medicine, he moved back to his parents’ home in Muldrow, OK, and spent his golden years back in his boyhood home. It’s funny how as young people we cannot wait to leave home, but the older we get we cannot wait to come back home. Why? Well, because home is where the heart is.

Today’s first reading is taken from the prophet Micah, who predicts the future Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. Why would Jesus be born in Bethlehem? Well, because that is the ancestral home of his family and he is a descendant of the royal family of King David. Bethlehem was David’s home. But did you know that Bethlehem was important even before David? It was the home of David’s great grandmother, Ruth.

By the way, whenever I pray the third Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, I always meditate on the book of Ruth and this prophecy of Micah. All that Bible backdrop is sort of like scriptural wrapping paper that covers the secret beauty of Bethlehem, like shining wrapping paper covers the gifts of Christmas. And that’s why the Messiah would call it his home. And home is where Jesus’ heart is, that is, with the people, the places and the prophecies of the Old Testament.

But just like it is getting harder for my father to go back home to India, so Jesus did not return to Bethlehem. But in a sense, he did not need to go back to that “little town of Bethlehem.” Why not? Well, because I am convinced that Jesus actually “became Bethlehem” wherever he was. What does that mean? Well, the two words, “Beth” and “Lehem” literally mean “house of bread.” And Jesus is the true “Bread of Life” as he declared in Jn 6:51. In other words, Bethlehem is not so much a city in Israel, but rather Jesus himself, the true house of Bread, and Bethlehem is wherever Jesus is present.

It’s kind of like that joke about where the CEO sat. A CEO was running late to a board meeting. When he entered the room, he took a seat closest to the door, so as not to interrupt the meeting. A younger assistant objected and said, “Sir, please come sit at the head of the table.” The CEO smiled and answered: “Son, wherever I sit is the head of the table.” So, too, wherever Jesus is present, there we find the real “House of Bread,” there we find Bethlehem, not only in Israel.

My friends, we cannot always return to our family roots, like my father cannot travel easily back to India. But we can always return to our spiritual home, the “House of Bread,” the true Bethlehem, that is the Catholic Church. Only in the Church do we enjoy the Eucharist, the living Bread that is Jesus himself. Many people come home for the holidays, packing the pews at Christmas Masses. I hope you all feel like you are spiritually back home in Bethlehem, the House of Bread, when you come home to I.C., especially those who have been away for a while.

Sometimes young people return to their home church to get married. They want to go home. Often people start to feel they need a “spiritual home” when they baptize their children. But it is usually when their children are in grade school and make their first Holy Communion that it really starts to hit home for the parents. Their children innocently ask: “Mom and dad, why don’t we go to Mass and receive Holy Communion every Sunday?” The children can clearly see the Church as Bethlehem, as the house of living Bread, and slowly help their parents to open their eyes of faith and see that as well. Home is where the heart is, and our hearts should be where we break Bread together, and where Jesus always sits at the head of the table.

Young people cannot wait to leave home, and older people cannot wait to return home. And that is why we love to come “home for the holidays.” But one day we will all return home for the holidays permanently, that is when we return home to heaven. And we will all be able to go to that eternal home, no matter how hard it is for us to travel, even for my dad.

Praised be Jesus Christ!