Homily on the birth of the Lord, the Son of God - the Prologue from Ochrid

The only begotten Son of God, my brethren, begotten in eternity of the Father without a mother, was born in time of a Mother without a father.  That first begetting is an unfathomable mystery of the Holy Trinity in eternity, and this second birth is an unfathomable mystery of God's power and love for mankind in time.  The greatest mystery in time corresponds to the greatest mystery in eternity.  Without probing with the light of our small understanding into this greatest of mysteries, let us be content, my brethren, with the discovery that our salvation has its origins not from men nor from the earth but from the greatest heights of the invisible, divine world.  Such is God's mercy and such is man's greatness, that God the Son Himself came down from eternity into time, from heaven to earth, from the throne of glory to the shepherd's cave, solely to save man, to cleanse him from sin and to lead him back to Paradise.  I came forth from the Father, where He had everything, and am come into the world, that could give Him nothing.  The Lord was born in a cave, to show that the whole world is a dark cave that only He can illumine.  The Lord was born in Bethlehem (the old Hebrew name bêth lehem, meaning house of bread) - the House of Bread- to show that He is the only Bread of life worthy of true men.