Being on the Feast of the Holy Nativity of our Lord and Saviour
Galatians 4: 4-7; Matthew 2: 1-12.
Today is the Feast of the Holy Nativity of our Lord and Saviour; this is the day where all the promises in the Old Testament begin to be fulfilled by the birth of a tiny baby boy. This is the day in which the All-Holy Trinity shows His love for the world for Saint Gregory Palamas states:
“If a tree is known by its fruit, and a good tree bears good fruit (cf. Mt. 7:17; Lk. 6:44), then is not the Mother of Goodness itself, she who bore the Eternal Beauty, incomparably more excellent than every good, whether in this world or above? Therefore, the coeternal and identical image of goodness, Preeternal, transcending all being, He who is the pre-existing and good Word of the Father, moved by unutterable love for mankind and compassion for us, put on our image, that He might reclaim for Himself our nature which had been dragged down to the depths of Hades, so as to renew this corrupted nature and raise it to the heights of Heaven” – Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse on the Entry of the All-Holy Theotokos into the Temple.
This is why we Orthodox hold the Holy Nativity to be one of the major Feasts of our Lord and Saviour Jesus because it is the beginning of our salvation. This is the feast in which we celebrate the Incarnation of the second Person of the All-Holy Trinity becoming man so that we might be able to reconnect fully with our Lord and Creator.
This is the Feast which hints at the plan of the All-Holy for bringing about our salvation echoed throughout the history of mankind.
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria states thus:
"The Word of God thus acted consistently in assuming a body and using a human instrument to vitalize the body. He was consistent in working through man to reveal Himself everywhere, as well as through the other parts of His creation, so that nothing was left empty of His Divinity and knowledge. For I take up now the point I made before, namely that the Saviour did this so that He might fill all things everywhere with the knowledge of Himself, just as they are already filled with His presence, even as the Divine Scripture says, ‘The whole universe was filled with the knowledge of the Lord’…The Word, then, visited that earth in which He was yet always present; and saw all the evils…. For this purpose, then, the incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God comes to our realm, howbeit he was not far from us before. For no part of Creation is left void of Him: He has filled all things everywhere, remaining present with His own Father. But He comes in condescension to show loving kindness upon us, and to visit us. – Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (On The Incarnation of the Word)"
Thus, it is evident that the All-Holy Trinity has been working throughout history to bring mankind back to Himself. Man could not heal the rift that had occurred as a result of the fall, so the All-Holy Trinity, had to be the One to offer man the Divine Medicine from on high, so that he could be reunited with his Creator.
Saint Anthony the great states thus about the healing of mankind through the intervention of the Divine Physician (Christ):
"And being clothed with the Spirit, they [the prophets] saw that none among the creatures was able to heal that great wound, but only the bounty of God, that is to say His Only-Begotten, Whom He sent to be the Saviour of all the world, for He is the great Physician, Who is able to heal the great wound of the fall. And they asked God and of His bounty the Father of creatures did not spare His Only-begotten for our salvation, but delivered Him up for us all and for our iniquities. And He humbled Himself, and by His stripes we all were healed. And by the word of His power He gathered us out of all lands, from one end of the world to the other end of the world, and raised up our hearts from the earth, and taught us that we are members of one another in His Body the Church. – Saint Antony the Great (Letters)."
This is why this Feast is such a joyful feast for us as it is the expression of the love of the All-Holy Trinity for us! What wonderous love, that He who is the All-Holy One, would send His beloved Son that we might have opportunity to be saved if we so wish to cooperate with His will (John 3: 16).
Also, do not let the ideals of the secular world cloud the truly awesome nature of this great Feast – this Holy Feast is more than Santa and well-worn Christmas Carols playing in the supermarket for the fiftieth time! This act of our Lord and Saviour’s Incarnation is truly an event to be marveled at!
Saint John of Kronstadt say this about the awesome nature of today’s Feast:
“The Nativity of Christ.—He has come upon earth, He Who in the beginning created us from earth and breathed His Divine breath into us; He has come Who “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts xvii. 25.); He has come, He Who by a single word called all things visible and invisible from non-existence into existence, Who by a word called into being birds, fishes, quadrupeds, insects, and all creatures, existing under His almighty providence and care; He has come, He Whom the innumerable hosts of Angels continually praise with joy. And in what humility has He come! He is born of a poor Virgin, in a cave, wrapped in poor swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. Riches, honours, glory of this world! fall down, fall down in humility, tearful devotion, and deep gratitude before the Saviour of men, and share your riches with the poor and needy. Do not pride yourselves on your visionary, fleeting distinctions, for true distinction can only be found in virtue. He is the Glory of this world! Lose here, before the manger, your vanity. Thus, let us all humble ourselves; let us all fall down in the dust before the boundless humility and exhaustion of the Sovereign of all, of God, Who has come to heal our infirmities, to save us from pride, vanity, corruption, and every sinful impurity – Saint John of Kronstad, My Life in Christ .”
Therefore, it is important that we not only have a sense of humility for all that our Lord and Saviour has brought about through His incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension - but also, let us have a deep gratitude for all that He has done for us.
Often, it can be difficult to feel grateful in life – let’s face it, things can be difficult at times causing us to want to become bitter rather than be thankful.
Do not forget, that like the Old Testament people, who were often helped by God, the All-Holy Trinity is always there seeking to help us the new Israel – His Body the Church. We are called then to be open and honest with Him and trust that He will help us – for He will if we truly trust in Him.
Many are the gifts that He gives, one only has to look at the lives of the many Christian Saints to see these wonderful gifts that are freely given.
Therefore, pray, trust, hope and do not let the worries of this life wear your faith down! Pray often that you will be given the strength of the great Saints, for they were human like us, and had many trials to deal with – yet they were given many gifts because they trusted in the All-Holy Trinity knowing that no matter how hopeless things seemed – He would help them!
Never let the reality of sin in life make you feel that you can never come into communion with the All-Holy Trinity, if you fall, simply seek absolution from a priest, and strive to do the best you can in the future, that is all our Lord and Saviour asks.
Do not forget that even the great Saints sinned, but it was their trust in God, and frequent reception of the Holy Mysteries of His Church - like the Holy Eucharist and Absolution - that enabled them to work on becoming perfect as He is perfect (Matthew 5: 48).
Finally, let this great Feast, help you to be renewed in your faith in our Lord and Saviour - He truly loves you and wants the best for you. This is why He was Incarnated and entered history so that you have the option to be united with Him in a deep Communion (Theosis).
Our Lord and Saviour cares deeply for you and calls you to receive often the Holy Mysteries of His Church which enable you to be healed and brought closer to Him the Divine Physician who became the God-man.
Let this Christmastide be a time of great joy where you focus on becoming a more Christ centred person who through your love for Christ, truly shows the love of Christ to the world.
If we cannot show this love of Christ to others, then there is no point to being a Christian, for God is love (1 John 4: 7-21), and if we are of God – i.e. Orthodox Christians- then we must let this love of God shine forth into the world.
For Christ tells us that Christians are the light of the world and what is this light? This light is nothing other than the love of God reflected from a loving Christian heart to others so that they may see that the All-Holy Trinity is the Lord who truly loves them and wants them to come unto Him (Matthew 5: 14-16).
Therefore, let your light shine for Christ is born; let us go to the crib and in true love and humility glorify He who is the Saviour of the world.
Troparion (Hymn) of the Holy Nativity of Christ:
Thy Nativity O Christ our God, has shone to the world the light of wisdom! For those who worshiped the stars came to adore thee the Sun of Righteousness, and know thee the Orient from on High. O Lord, glory to you.
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