SIULAI 4, 2023
Bethlehem: House of Bread בית לחם
PETELIHEMA: FALE ‘O MA
RUTH 1:1
IN THE DAYS WHEN THE JUDGES RULED THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND, AND A MAN OF BETHLEHEM IN JUDAH WENT TO SOJOURN IN THE COUNTRY OF
MOAB, HE AND HIS WIFE AND HIS TWO SONS.
LUTE 1:1
PEA ko eni, ‘i he taimi na‘e pule ai ‘a e Kau Fakamaau na‘e honge ‘a e fonua. Pea na‘e ‘alu ha tangata mei Pētelihema-Siuta ke ‘āunofo ‘i he tuku‘uta ‘o Moape, ‘a ia mo hono uaifi mo hono ongo foha
The long, frigid winters in Hell, Michigan, make that town's name choice rather paradoxical. At one time, the same applied to Beth Lechem ("House of Bread"). During a famine, there was no bread in the House of Bread. Much like the famine in Abraham and Sarah's day led to their journey to Egypt, so this one led to Naomi and her family's trek to Moab. Behind the scenes of both exiles was the hand of the Redeemer, orchestrating events that would lead, after several generations, to acts of salvation: first, the exodus of Israel from Egypt, and, second, the birth of Israel's king David in Bethlehem.
A situation of hopeless discord was, in the hands of the divine musician, a perfect opportunity to pen a ballad of liberation and joy. In perfect tune with this divine music was the birth of the Messiah in Beth Lechem. The bread of God, the bread of life, celebrates his nativity in the House of Bread. Into this cosmos of darkness and hopelessness, the whisper of an ancient song of liberation and joy was in the wind once more.
Good Shepherd, who prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies, feed us with the bread of life.
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