Sermons on the Nativity of Christ

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Sermon on the Nativity of Christ
by Blessed Metropolitan Antony 1906

“For the Life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us” (1 John 1, 2).

This new life is our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is now born in Bethlehem, as He Himself said during the last days of His earthly life: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14, 6).

What is this new life, brothers, and why do people long for it? Because before Christ, people were dissatisfied with their former life, and even now all those who separate themselves from Christ are dissatisfied; they are dissatisfied because earthly life does not correspond to their desires. They want to be healthy and full, but life burdens them with sicknesses and hunger; they want riches and high ranks, but poverty and dishonour goad them, and if they do not fall into these disasters, they still remain dissatisfied with what they have, and desire more good things.

Still, people have not all sought outward prosperity: there have always been those who were burdened by their own lawless life -- both by their own and that of the whole world; who were burdened by not knowing what would happen to them after death; who lamented the defeat or destruction of their fatherland; who complained that there was no righteousness on earth, but rather deception and violence. For such people life was yet more burdensome than for lovers of self: the latter sought a consolation for their woes, albeit temporary, in drunkenness, debauchery, fighting and robbery, but the better people did not see a ray of light anywhere; their soul was burdened by their own and others’ sins; and then, after repentance, their evil will drew them again into sin. Little by little, sacred hope and good desires were eaten away from their souls; and, at last, sinful passions gradually enslaved them, but these still did not given them full satisfaction, because there are no such admonitions as are capable of bringing rejoicing to an uplifted soul, but rather only serve to increase its inner torment. These people were filled with a grief of a similar kind when they studied the nation’s way of life; they saw that there is never any human justice on earth, as the wise Solomon said: “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the bold, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet bread to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all” (Eccl. 9, 11). And it is usually the sly, flatterers, cheats and robbers who take advantage of this chance.

One could bring forward many more pictures from life in order to show how little life without Christ corresponds to our desires, be they good or bad. Because of this you find ordinary life burdensome, especially when you know human malice and have understood how impossible it is for people to hope for a more reasonable, just life. Laws against evildoers have been thought up to punish them, and they have contrived to have the innocent punished, deceiving the judges or else buying them with bribes or threats. People were punished for theft; thus, instead of thieving, they have started making each other drunk, so that the victim of their malice would make himself surrender his good to them, and his soul would also perish in wine; people tried to teach each other reason through philosophy, but the subtle malice of deceivers penetrated even here; and, under the name of philosophy, has taught youths the foulest concepts, convincing them that there is no good or evil on the earth, but only advantage and disadvantage. This is how people were languishing, like a bird with his legs tied: he flaps his wings, wants to fly, but falls down again because of the string.

Now you will understand why the Holy Apostle John hastens to rejoice those who listen to and read his epistle, assuring them that a new life hath appeared in the Saviour Who hath been born. All the believing Jews had long been awaiting such an Envoy, or Messiah, and the wisest of the pagans had been waiting also. They hoped that the Messiah would both make the path of virtuous life easier for each person, and also establish righteousness on the earth, so that the sinners would no longer dominate over the righteous, nor the pagans over the rightly believing Jews, but they hoped, on the contrary, that the manifested Son of God would Himself become a righteous king-conqueror, subdue the pagans and establish righteousness and general happiness on earth, and, in general, bring a new, blessed life to the earth.

And really, He both brought new life and called Himself the life of all. And those who have accepted His life, followed in His footsteps and united themselves with Him, have really ceased to experience that satisfaction with life which oppressed and still oppresses people who have not come to know Christ. What? Did they immediately become rich, famous, healthy, free from sinful passions? No, brothers, they became poorer and more inglorious than all; remaining in labour and fasting, they did not know the pleasure of bodily health, and increased the warfare with passions yet more, because they were now also struggling with such desires and thoughts as they had formerly not even counted as sins -- self-love, anger and lustful desire, for example.

In what way did they become blessed? From what afflictions did the grace of Christ deliver them, and what condition of happiness did it bring them?

There is one condition for happiness, brothers: willingly to refuse happiness, riches, glory, the desire for health, rest. They turned their hearts away from everything towards which people had formerly strived, except for virtue, and came to love everything, were reconciled with everything that people had formerly considered to be their greatest sorrow, except sin and vice. And when they disposed their hearts like this, sin ceased to be so alluring, virtue ceased to be burdensome; on the contrary, they began gradually to find in it that source of joy which the pagans had found only in earthly pleasures. This is the meaning of the Lord’s words: “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek ... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Mt. 6, 31-33).

It is not said in vain, brothers, that Christ brought new life to the earth. We see that he turned the human soul around completely; changed its nature, as it were. Formerly people accumulated wealth, now they have started to give it away; formerly they feared prisons and torments, now the Apostles exultantly thank God for them; formerly they feared afflictions, now St. James writes to the Christians: Those who consider that envy is just cannot understand this; nor can those understand it who have received sufficiency and honour in this world, but do not want to give up even a part of it to others of their own free will, but oppress the poor, degrade their subordinates, oppress strangers and make fun of simple folk. Miserable people! You are more unfortunate than those whom you are mocking: they are purified by their afflictions and come close to the Saviour Who hath been born, but you are removing yourselves from His new life and remain in your former death, as it is said: (1 Jn. 5, 20), hath opened for us the path to eternal and blessed life; this is what all righteousness in human society is based upon. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (1, 2).

On earth, as before, there is injustice, and sickness, and poverty, and all kinds of offences, and the more time passes, the more of this there will be, as the Lord predicted, as well as the Holy Apostles Peter, Jude, Paul and John. But the souls of Christians were not overwhelmed or crushed by all these afflictions. They came to know another blessedness -- inner and spiritual -- and if they grieved about anything, then it was only about their falls into sin and the sins of their neighbours.

How, through what acts of His life, did our Saviour change the whole essence of our souls, or our lives?

First of all, by His very Nativity. That transformation of the human soul and life which He accomplished in Himself, was reflected in all its clarity in the town of Bethlehem. This little town in those days reflected the entire life of the whole human race.

The life of man is a universal struggle for comfort and earthly advantages. The multitude of people who had gathered in Bethlehem was crowded into various dwellings on a cold night; probably the poor envied the rich in their comfort, the rich harshly drove unwanted lodgers out of their homes, and became angry when the overcrowding forced them unwillingly to share their accommodation with others. At least, that is how it always is when a lot of people are crowded together.

Looks what happens according to the customs of the new life. He to Whom all the houses, all the towns, and the entire universe belong, deprives Himself of the last human dwellings and takes up His abode together with beasts, committing Himself to an irrational manger instead of the throne of cherubim. O people! Is it for you to struggle and torment each other for preference in honor, cleanliness and comfort, when God does not spurn not being allowed in to where people are and is satisfied with an animal shed! Man! You murmured about your poverty, you looked with an envious eye on the rich and famous, you lamented the poverty of your own hut, you are grieved that you are accounted as one of the simple folk. Go down yet lower in your station in life, and you will be accounted to be with God! You considered it a great honour to approach the doorstep of a lord, but look how easily you can obtain a dwelling equal to God’s house. You look at palaces with desire, because kings live in them or have lived in them; look rather at the stall where the incarnate Son of God dwelt. You see where is the beginning of the new teaching, of the new life, of the new customs. If you follow after Christ in this way, no place will be crowded for you. If everyone takes to heart the image of Christ’s life, then there will be plenty of room and no offence for anyone.

But you will say: I would not grieve about poverty, but I am crushed by my heavy daily labour. I sow and reap bread, but other people eat it, I herd the flock, but the landlords drink the milk, I tailor the cloth, but others wear it. Perhaps the enemy also tempted the Bethlehem shepherds with just such thoughts, when they were keeping watch by night outside the town which was plunged in sleep, and herded the townspeople’s’ flocks; but if they had accepted such thoughts, they would not have become the most blessed of people. There were then many people in the town who were rich, famous and not occupied with anything, but it was not to them that the angel appeared, announcing the birth of the Pre-eternal One; it was not they, but these paupers deprived of their night’s sleep who were granted the heavenly vision. They taught the whole world to sing those blessed words which resounded in the heavens: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will among men” (Lk. 2, 14). They were the first people, after Her Who had given birth to the Super-essential One, who were granted to behold Him and worship Him and glorify the Most Pure Mother of the Lamb and the Shepherd.

And further, Christian, go over in your mind everything that the Gospel reading about the Nativity of Christ hath proclaimed to us. All our customs, all concepts changed into the new life of the whole of human nature. Are you grieving over the fact that you have been subject to unjust persecution? But surely you are not more righteous than Christ, Who was pursued by the impious Herod. Are you grieving over exile or banishment? Remember the flight into Egypt. Do you find the yoke of the law burdensome? Gaze on the circumcision of the Lord and His presentation in the Temple on the 40th day. Or are you distressed at having to submit to one who is worse than you, while you yourself are more enlightened and better than others? But Jesus was far more superior than you to the elder Joseph and, however, He submitted to him. Do you consider your advisor or superior to have acquired his authority unworthily and by chance? But the Lord Jesus revered His imagined father as! a real one. And so understand that the burden of life is not in the labour, not in the poverty, not in obedience, not in bearing offences or even persecution -- no, but it is in considering that one has need of idleness and riches, self-will and constant pleasure. All this takes the joy of existence away from man, all this is also what causes evil passions and vices in him and nourishes them, and the Lord hath delivered us from all these errors, enlightening both poverty and bearing offences, and heavy labour and abasement by His Nativity. This is why the whole world is now chanting: “Thy Nativity, O Christ Our God, hath shone upon the world with the light of knowledge.”"He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 Jn. 3, 14).

And so, the new life in Christ consists in willingly renouncing worldly goods and not grieving when they are taken away by force. Perhaps you cannot direct your mind this way at once. But to the extent that you willingly deprive yourself of earthly enjoyments, however reluctantly: fast, offend yourself by giving to the poor or giving way to others, do not become angry or take revenge for oppression, but bear offences in silence; -- to the extent that you crucify the old man in yourself -- to this extent will a new font of grace-filled life pour out of your heart. “He that believeth on Me,” says the Lord, “out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn. 7, 38). It is no longer either riches, or health, or glory, or the destruction of enemies that will make you rejoice, but, just as a farmer rejoices over a ripening field, or a hunter over a lot of wild fowl fluttering about, or an artist over the beauty of a sunset -- so you will rejoice over prayer, spiritual reading and the opportunity to be kind to your neighbour, either by giving, or consoling one who is grieving, calming one who is angry, or bringing a villain to his senses. The impious Jews did not want to accept this new life: they wanted earthly happiness, and the destruction of enemies, and human glory, and vain riches. It is the same thing which their foolish pupils want even now, Europeans of various nationalities, and many here in Russia. They have forgotten Christ, have come to hate Christ’s abasement and love the treasures of the land of Egypt, not like the great Moses (Heb. 11, 26), but “like the ancient foolish people in the wilderness.”

And they are not only returning themselves to the former pagan madness, but they are also trying to turn ardent youths and our people from the path of the Gospel, and in their blindness they promise them universal riches and happiness through confiscating property from the rich for common use. -- If this division of riches were even possible, even then, what peace, what happiness is possible among the envious? And if people saw their happiness in sufficiency of this kind, then they would not be people, but beasts, who need nothing except satiety and rest.

These people know that they have gone against the Gospel, although they even deny it hypocritically; they deny it, but they feel that for them there is no teaching more hostile that the teaching of Christ -- as the Jewish scribes who roused the people against the Romans in quest of their own power, riches and honour, felt it. It is not justice, but envious malice that they are sowing on the earth, and, striving for rights, they multiply unrighteousness. Christ God taught us, brothers, to teach others not to seek for rights, but to renounce them; not to demand equality with the gentry, but self-abasement; not to fight, but to give way; not to commit crimes, but to bear offences. This is how the manifest Sun of Righteousness “hath given us light and understanding” (1 Jn. 5, 20), hath opened for us the path to eternal and blessed life; this is what all righteousness in human society is based upon.

Then let us, brothers, glorify the Lord Who hath appeared and rejoice in His Nativity! Nothing will take this joy away from us, -- neither poverty, nor offences, nor labour day and night: He hath blessed all this, and magnified it, and sanctified it with Himself in the town of Bethlehem. Let us draw instruction from here, and to Him, Who hath loved us, glory and honour, power and worship, with the Father and the Spirit for ever.

Amen.

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A Sermon on the Nativity of Christ
by Saint John of Kronstadt

“Great is the mystery of piety: God is manifested in the flesh.” (I Tim. 3, 16)

It is on this day that, throughout the entire inhabited world, the Holy Church brings to our remembrance and observes that most majestic and sublime of mysteries: the Incarnation of God the Word from a Most-pure virgin through an outpouring of, and an overshadowing by, God’s Holy Spirit. Wondrous, inexpressible, and awesome is this mystery, both for the exalted and all-contemplating celestial minds of those who dwell in the heavens: the ranks of the angels, – and for the minds of men, enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Imagine: the unoriginate God from Whom everything received the commencement of its existence: the Angels, and the human race, and the entire world, both visible and invisible, – takes a beginning in His humanity. He Whom the heavens cannot contain – is contained in a virginal womb. God – becomes an infant, and is borne upon the arms of a Mother. He Who nourishes every breath – is nourished by paps.

The science of astronomy has learned and affirms that, in the order of creation, our earth is but a barely-noticeable point; that millions of worlds around our own fill up the vastnesses of space. And, lo! this single point, this barely-noticeable globe of God’s creation, being inhabited by men, – has been accounted worthy of the inexpressible honour of bearing upon itself God-in-the-Flesh, the God-Man, Who did deign to dwell amongst men, to teach erring mankind the knowledge of God, to work innumerable miracles of good, to preach repentance and complete forgiveness of sins; to suffer and to die as an holy Sacrifice for the sins of the world, to be resurrected through the power of Divinity from amongst the dead, – having vanquished death, which is natural to all men, – and to make a gift of resurrection to the entire human race.

Not a single one of the visible worlds, save the earth, has been deemed worthy of this greatest of all honours: for it was only upon the earth that Jesus Christ, the only-begotten of the heavenly Father, had a Virgin-Mother, and He alone was Her Son by way of humanity. Why was the earth given such preference? Why was it only on earth that God appeared in the flesh? – This is a great Divine mystery, a mystery of immeasurable loving-kindness and of God’s condescension to perishing mankind.

Thus, God did appear in the flesh: rejoice and be exceeding glad, O earth; rejoice and celebrate, ye earth-born. The Creator Himself did come to you, in order to create you anew; to restore you, who were corrupted by transgressions. To you did He come: the almighty Physician Himself, – powerful to treat all the inveterate afflictions of sin, – in order that He might heal all the passions of the soul and all the infirmities of the body, – all of the which He truly did do, as we know from the Gospel and from the history of the Church.

Thus, greet Him joyfully – with pure minds and hearts, with bodies chaste and restrained by fasting and abstinence, which the Holy Church has thoughtfully instituted prior to this great feast in order to prepare us worthily to meet the heavenly Tsar’, Who comes to us in order to abide in us.

He came to us with the mercy and good will of His heavenly Father, – and from us He demands mercy toward our neighbours; He is the righteous Tsar’ – and He demands of us all righteousness; for He, too, as a man, fulfilled all righteousness (Matt. 3,15), showing us an example and providing us with grace and the strength to carry it out. He Himself did suffer for us, having borne the cross; and He taught us to deny ourselves, – or our sins and our passions, – and to follow after Him, doing what is holy out of reverence for God (2 Cor. 7, 1).

He came to heal our souls, ailing from sin, and commanded all to repent; let us ever, then, be earnestly contrite, correcting ourselves and striving toward holiness and perfection. The holy Angels, at the Nativity of the God-man, did declare peace unto the world; and unto men – the good will of the Heavenly Father. Let us then, ourselves, have within us a peaceful conscience, and let us be at peace with everyone, if possible. Be at peace and be holy with all, sayeth the apostle, – for without this shall none see the Lord. (comp. Heb. 12, 14).

Amen.

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Nativity Sermon
by St John Chrysostom



"I behold a new and wondrous mystery!

My ears resound to the shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but loudly chanting a heavenly hymn!



The angels sing!



The archangels blend their voices in harmony!



The cherubim resound their joyful praise!



The Seraphim exalt His glory!



All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead herein... on earth and man in heaven. He who is above now, for our salvation, dwells here below; and we, who were lowly, are exalted by divine mercy!



Today Bethlehem resembles heaven, hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices and, in place of the sun, witnessing the rising of the Sun of Justice!



Ask not how this is accomplished, for where God wills, the order of nature is overturned. For He willed He had the powers He descended. He saved. All things move in obedience to God.



Today He Who Is, is born ! And He Who Is becomes what He was not! For when He was God, He became man-while not relinquishing the Godhead that is His...



And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him angels, nor archangels, nor thrones, nor dominions, nor powers, nor principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.



Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His incarnation has He ceased being God. And behold kings have come, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven; Women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of childbirth into joy; Virgins, to the Son of the Virgin...



Infants, that they may adore Him who became a little child, so that out of the mouths of infants He might perfect praise; Children, to the Child who raised up martyrs through the rage of Herod; Men, to Him who became man that He might heal the miseries of His servants;



Shepherds, to the Good Shepherd who was laid down His life for His sheep;



Priests, to Him who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek;



Servants, to Him who took upon Himself the form of a servant, that He might bless our stewardship with the reward of freedom (Philippians 2:7);



Fishermen, to the Fisher of humanity;



Publicans, to Him who from among them named a chosen evangelist;



Sinful women, to Him who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant woman;



And that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Since, therefore, all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice! I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival! But I take my part, not plucking the harp nor with the music of the pipes nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ!

For this is all my hope!



This is my life!



This is my salvation!



This is my pipe, my harp!



And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels and shepherds, sing:



"Glory to God in the Highest! and on earth peace to men of good will! "

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Nativity Sermon
by St. Leo the Great

I. All share in the joy of Christmas.

Our Saviour, dearly-beloved, was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity. No one is kept from sharing in this happiness. There is for all one common measure of joy, because as our Lord the destroyer of sin and death finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all. Let the saint exult in that he draws near to victory. Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon. Let the gentile take courage in that he is called to life. For the Son of God in the fulness of time which the inscrutable depth of the Divine counsel has determined, has taken on him the nature of man, thereby to reconcile it to its Author: in order that the inventor of death, the devil, might be conquered through that (nature) which he had conquered. And in this conflict undertaken for us, the fight was fought on great and wondrous principles of fairness; for the Almighty Lord enters the lists with His savage foe not in His own majesty but in our humility, opposing him with the same form and the same nature, which shares indeed our mortality, though it is free from all sin. Truly foreign to this nativity is that which we read of all others, "no one is clean from stain, not even the infant who has lived but one day upon earth." (Job xix. 4.) Nothing therefore of the lust of the flesh has passed into that peerless nativity, nothing of the law of sin has entered. A royal Virgin of the stem of David is chosen, to be impregnated with the sacred seed and to conceive the Divinely-human offspring in mind first and then in body. And lest in ignorance of the heavenly counsel she should tremble at so strange a result, she learns from converse with the angel that what is to be wrought in her is of the Holy Ghost. Nor does she believe it loss of honour that she is soon to be the Mother of God (Lat. Dei genetrix, Gk θεοτόκος). For why should she be in despair over the novelty of such conception, to whom the power of the most High has promised to effect it. Her implicit faith is confirmed also by the attestation of a precursory miracle, and Elizabeth receives unexpected fertility: in order that there might be no doubt that He who had given conception to the barren, would give it even to a virgin.

II. The mystery of the Incarnation is a fitting theme for joy both to angels and to men.

Therefore the Word of God, Himself God, the Son of God who "in the beginning was with God," through whom "all things were made" and "without" whom "was nothing made," (S. John i. 1–3) with the purpose of delivering man from eternal death, became man: so bending Himself to take on Him our humility without decrease in His own majesty, that remaining what He was and assuming what He was not, He might unite the true form of a slave to that form in which He is equal to God the Father, and join both natures together by such a compact that the lower should not be swallowed up in its exaltation nor the higher impaired by its new associate.Without detriment therefore to the properties of either substance which then came together in one person, majesty took on humility, strength weakness, eternity mortality: and for the paying off of the debt, belonging to our condition, inviolable nature was united with possible nature, and true God and true man were combined to form one Lord, so that, as suited the needs of our case, one and the same Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, could both die with the one and rise again with the other.

Rightly therefore did the birth of our Salvation impart no corruption to the Virgin's purity, because the bearing of the Truth was the keeping of honour. Such then beloved was the nativity which became the Power of God and the Wisdom of God even Christ, whereby He might be one with us in manhood and surpass us in Godhead. For unless He were true God, He would not bring us a remedy, unless He were true Man, He would not give us an example. Therefore the exulting angel's song when the Lord was born is this, "Glory to God in the Highest," and their message, "peace on earth to men of good will." (S. Luke ii. 14.) For they see that the heavenly Jerusalem is being built up out of all the nations of the world: and over that indescribable work of the Divine love how ought the humbleness of men to rejoice, when the joy of the lofty angels is so great?

III. Christians then must live worthily of Christ their Head.

Let us then, dearly beloved, give thanks to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit, Who "for His great mercy, wherewith He has loved us," has had pity on us: and "when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together in Christ," (Eph. ii. 4, 5) that we might be in Him a new creation and a new production. Let us put off then the old man with his deeds: and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh. Christian, acknowledge thy dignity, and becoming a partner in the Divine nature, refuse to return to the old baseness by degenerate conduct. Remember the Head and the Body of which thou art a member. Recollect that thou wert rescued from the power of darkness and brought out into God's light and kingdom. By the mystery of Baptism thou wert made the temple of the Holy Ghost: do not put such a denizen to flight from thee by base acts, and subject thyself once more to the devil's thraldom: because thy purchase money is the blood of Christ, because He shall judge thee in truth Who ransomed thee in mercy, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

[TER]

Nativity Epistle
by St. John Maximovitch, 1962

"Thou, Who art the God of peace and the Father of compassion, didst send unto us the Angel of Thy great Counsel, granting us peace."

The Angel of the pre-eternal Counsel of the Holy Trinity comes to the earth. This is not an ordinary messenger; it is the Only-begotten Son of God Himself. He brings peace to men. "Peace be unto you," he said more than once to His disciples. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you," He says to the apostles at the Mystical Supper, "not as the world giveth, give I unto you." And appearing after His Resurrection, again He says: "Peace be unto you." "For he is our peace," the Holy Apostle Paul says concerning Him: "He came to the earth to reconcile man unto God by the Cross, having slain the enmity thereby. And having come, He preached peace to those afar off and to those near, because through Him we both have access unto the Father."

The wall that separated heaven and earth is destroyed; the sword that barred the way to the Tree of Life disappears. Unto man that had sinned comes his Creator, calling him into His embrace! By the mouths of the apostles, the Holy Spirit cries out: "In Christ, be ye reconciled to God." You that had sinned came not to God, but the Son of God, before Whom you sinned, came to you! He calls everyone to Himself; He gives forgiveness to everyone who merely thirsts for this. For without the desire of man himself, without at least his little effort, God's peace cannot settle in him. The Lord forces no one to come to Him, but calls everyone: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Come all ye who are heavy laden with sins, who are exhausted from your labors and who do not find rest! You shall find that inner peace, which you will find nothing on earth more desirable than. The soul will feel unearthly peace and joy.

The Magi who worshipped the Babe experienced that joy; the shepherds, finding Him lying in a manger, also felt it. But neither peace nor joy touched the heart of Herod and those who wanted to destroy the Babe. For evil desire and malice are incompatible with inner peace. And whoever does not have inner peace, also sows strife and malice about.

The Church now calls us to meet Christ Who comes from heaven. What can we do in order to meet Him like the Magi, and not like Herod? "Ye that desire life, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." It tends to be hard to do this; we are weak when it comes to everything good. But the Son of God even came for this: in order to strengthen us. Not for naught was He born in Bethlehem, which signifies "house of bread." He feeds us with heavenly food, His flesh. "God, the Lord and Creator of all, as a babe in the flesh, is worshipped in a poor manger, crying out: 'Eat My body and through faith be made steadfast.'" These words of the divine Babe are directed to us. Let us hearken to His call! Let us follow the Magi; let us hasten with the shepherds! Our churches are now that cave of Bethlehem. Not illusory, but in reality does He, Who is now being born in His most pure flesh, rest in them. Let us worship Him; let us offer as a gift our thoughts and desires; let us confess our sins, and let us taste of His immaculate Body and Blood. Whoever did not do this earlier, let him at least accomplish it now, when the star of Bethlehem is already shining! Our minds will be enlightened and the heart will hear:

"Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will among men!"

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How can the Godhead be in the flesh? In the same way as fire can be in iron: not by moving from place to place but by the one imparting to the other its own properties. Fire does not speed towards iron, but without itself undergoing any change it causes the iron to share in its own natural attributes. The fire is not diminished, and yet it completely fills whatever shares in its nature. So is it also with God the Word. He did not relinquish his own nature, and yet “he dwelt among us.” He did not undergo any change, and yet “the Word became flesh.” Earth received him from heaven, yet heaven was not deserted by him who holds the universe in being….

Let us strive to comprehend the mystery. The reason God is in the flesh is to kill the death that lurks there. As diseases are cured by medicines assimilated by the body, and as darkness in a house is dispelled by the coming of light, so death, which held sway over human nature, is done away with by the coming of God. And as ice formed on water covers its surface as long as night and darkness last but melts under the warmth of the sun, so death reigned until the coming of Christ; but when the grace of God our Savior appeared and the Sun of justice rose, death was swallowed up in victory, unable to bear the presence of true life. How great is God’s goodness, how deep his love for us!

- St. Basil the Great

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Bump

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But He was a Baby. He was a Child, so that ye may be a perfect man; He was wrapped in swaddling clothes that ye may be loosed from the snares of death (Ps. 17:5, 6). He was in a manger, so that ye may be in the Altar; He on earth, the ye may be in the stars. He had no other place in the inn, so that ye may have many mansions in the heavens (Jn. 14:2; Eph 2:6). “He,” it says, “being rich, became poor for your sake, that through His poverty ye might be rich” (2 Cor 8:9). Therefore, His poverty is my inheritance, and the Lord’s weakness is my virtue. He chose lack for Himself, that He may abound for all.

- Saint Ambrose of Milan

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Christmas Eve bump!

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Christmas Day bump!

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The Nativity of Christ

Preceding the Nativity of Jesus Christ, there was a general expectation of the Saviour. The Jews expected His coming on the basis of prophecies, and all the prophecies relating to the coming of the Son of God had been fulfilled. For example, the Patriarch Jacob had foretold that the Saviour would come when the scepter would depart from Judah (Gen 49:10). The prophet Daniel had foretold that the Kingdom of the Messiah would begin at the seventieth week (490 years) after the issuance of a command concerning the restoration of Jerusalem, during the era of a powerful pagan kingdom, which would be as strong as iron (Dan 9:24-27). And, indeed, at the end of Daniel's seventy weeks, Judæa fell under the dominion of the mighty Roman Empire, while the scepter passed from Judah to Herod, an Idumæan by birth.

The pagans also, in misery from unbelief and a general dissipation of morals, expected a Deliverer with impatience. Men, having fallen away from God, began to deify earthly good things, wealth and worldly glory. The Son of God rejected these worthless idols as the fruit of sin and human passions and was pleased to come into the world under the most modest conditions.

Two Evangelists describe the events of the Nativity: Apostles Matthew (of the twelve) and Luke (of the seventy disciples). Since the Evangelist Matthew wrote his Gospel for the Hebrews, he set himself the aim of proving that the Messiah descended from the forefathers Abraham and King David, as had been foretold by the prophets. Therefore, the Evangelist Matthew begins his narrative of the Nativity of Christ with a genealogy (Matt. 1:1-17).

Knowing that Jesus was not the son of Joseph, the Evangelist does not say that Joseph begat Jesus, but says that Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, Who is called Christ. But why, then, does he adduce Joseph's genealogy and not Mary's? The Hebrews did not have the custom of reckoning genealogies according to the female line, but their Law commanded a man to take a wife without fail from the tribe to which he belonged. Therefore, the Evangelist, not deviating from custom, adduces Joseph's genealogy, to show that Mary, Joseph's wife, and consequently also Jesus, descend from the same tribe of Judah and clan of David.

The most holy Virgin, informed by the Archangel Gabriel that she had been chosen to become the mother of the Messiah, set out for a meeting with Elizabeth, being only the espoused bride of Joseph. Almost three months had already passed since the good tidings of the angel. Joseph, who had not been initiated into this mystery, noticed her condition; her outward appearance gave him cause to consider unfaithfulness. He could have publicly denounced her and subjected her to the severe punishment established by the Law of Moses, but, in accordance with his goodness, he did not want to resort to such a drastic measure. After long vacillations, he decided to put his bride away secretly, without making any publicity, having delivered to her a bill of divorcement.

But an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and declared that the bride espoused to him would give birth from the Holy Spirit; therefore he advised Joseph, 'fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife.' And he was further instructed to name the Son born of her Jesus (Ieshua), that is, Saviour, since He would save His people from their sins. Joseph recognized this dream as inspiration from on high and obeyed it, taking Mary as his wife, but knew her not, that is, he lived with her not as a husband with a wife, but as a brother with a sister (or, judging from the enormous difference in years, rather as a father with a daughter). In narrating this, the Evangelist adds for himself: Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14). The name "Emmanuel" means "God with us." Here, Isaiah is not calling the One born of the Virgin Emmanuel: he is saying that men will call him such. Thus, this is not the proper name of the One born of the Virgin, but only a prophetic indication that God will be in His person.

The holy Evangelist Luke notes that the time of the Nativity of Christ coincided with a census of the inhabitants of the Roman Empire. This census was carried out in accordance with the command of Cæsar Augustus, that is, the Roman emperor Octavian, who had received the title Augustus ("sacred") from the Roman Senate. The edict on the census came out in the 746th year from the founding of Rome, but in Judæa the census began approximately in the 750th year, during the final years of the reign of Herod, who was surnamed the Great.

The Hebrews reckoned their genealogies according to tribes and clans. This custom was so strong that, having learned of the command of Augustus, they went to be registered each to the town of his clan. Joseph and the Virgin Mary descended, as is well known, from the clan of David. Therefore, they went to set out for Bethlehem, called the city of David because David was born there. Thus, by God's Providence, the ancient prophesy of the Prophet Micah was fulfilled, that Christ would be born precisely in Bethlehem: But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be a ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting (Micah 5:2, Matt. 2:6).

According to Roman laws, women were subject to the universal census equally with men. Therefore, Joseph went to Bethlehem not alone, but with the Most Holy Virgin. An unexpected journey to his native Bethlehem, a journey so close to the delivery of the Infant, must have convinced Joseph that Cæsar's decree was providential, directing events for the Son of Mary to be born precisely where the Messiah-Saviour ought to be born.

After an exhausting journey, the elderly Joseph and the Virgin Mary arrived in Bethlehem. There was no room in the inn for the mother of the Saviour of the world, and she, with her companion, was forced to lodge in a cave, where livestock were driven from pasture during bad weather. Here, during a winter night, under the most wretched conditions, the Saviour of the world - Christ - was born.

Having borne a Son, the Most Holy Virgin herself swaddled Him and laid Him in a manger. In these brief words, the Evangelist informs us that the Mother of God gave birth painlessly. The Evangelist's expression, brought forth her firstborn son, causes unbelievers to say that, after Jesus the first-born, the Most Holy Virgin had other children, since the Evangelists mention the "brethren" of Christ (Simon, Joses, Judas and James). However, according to the Law of Moses (Ex. 13:2), every infant of the male sex that openeth the womb was called the first-born, even if he were the last. The so-called "brethren" of Jesus in the Gospels are not His own brothers, but only relatives, the children of the aged Joseph by his first wife, Salome, and also the children of Mary the wife of Cleophas (whom the Evangelist John calls his mother's sister). In any case, they all were much older than Christ and therefore could not in any way be the children of the Virgin Mary.

Jesus Christ was born at night, when everyone in Bethlehem and its environs was sleeping. Only the shepherds, who were watching over the flock entrusted to them, were not sleeping. Unto these modest men, who labored and were heavy laden, an angel appeared with the joyous tidings of the birth of the Saviour of the world. The resplendent light surrounding the angel amidst the nocturnal darkness frightened the shepherds. But the angel at once calmed them, saying: Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. By these words, the angel gave them to understand the true purpose of the Messiah, Who had come not for the Jews alone, but for all people, for joy would be to all people who would accept Him as the Saviour. The angel explained to the shepherds that they would find Christ, the Lord Who had been born, in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Why did an angel not announce the birth of Christ to the Jewish elders, to the scribes and the Pharisees, calling them also to worship the Divine Infant? Because these blind leaders of the blind had ceased to understand the true meaning of the prophecies concerning the Messiah and, on account of their exclusiveness and haughtiness, they imagined that the Deliverer would appear in the full splendor of a majestic conqueror-king, to subjugate the whole world. The modest preacher of peace and love toward one's enemies was unacceptable to them.

The shepherds did not doubt that the angel had been sent to them from God, and therefore they were counted worthy to hear the triumphant heavenly hymn: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men. The angels glorify God, Who had sent the Saviour to men, for from that time, the peace of the conscience has been restored and the enmity between heaven and earth, which arose as a consequence of sin, has been eliminated.

The angels withdrew, while the shepherds hastily set out for Bethlehem; they found the Infant lying in a manger and were the first to worship Him. They told Mary and Joseph about the event that had brought them to the cradle of Christ; they told the same to others also, and all that heard their story were astonished. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart, i.e., she remembered all that she had heard. The Evangelist Luke, who describes many events in the life of the Virgin, such as the Annunciation and the details of the birth of Christ (Luke, Ch. 2), evidently wrote from her words. On the eighth day after his birth, the Infant was circumscribed as prescribed by the Law of Moses.

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A Christmas Sermon of Saint Jerome
The Nativity of Christ

By St. Jerome

"She laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7) His mother laid him in a manger. Joseph did not dare to touch him, for he knew he had not been begotten of him. In awe, he rejoiced at a son, but he did not dare to touch the Son.

"She laid him in a manger." Why in a manger? That the prophecy of Isaiah, the prophet, might be fulfilled: "An ox knows its owner, and a donkey, its master's manger." (Isa.1:3) In another place, it is written: "You save both humans and animals, O Lord." (Ps. 36:6) If you are human, eat the Bread; if you are an animal, come to the manger.

"Because there was no room for them in the inn." Appropriately said: "There was no room for them in the inn," for Jewish unbelief had overflowed into everything. He found no room in the Holy of Holies that shone with gold, precious stones, pure silk, and silver. He is born in the midst of gold and riches, but in the midst of dung, in a stable (wherever there is a stable, there is also dung) where our sins were more filthy than the dung. He is born on a dunghill in order to lift up those who come from it; "from a dunghill he lifts up the poor." (Ps.113:7) He is born on a dunghill, where Job, too, sat and afterwards was crowned.

"There was no room for them in the inn." The poor should take great comfort from this. Joseph and Mary, the mother of the Lord, had no servant boy, no maid servant. From Nazareth in Galilee, they come all alone; they own no work animals; they are their own masters and servants. Here is a new thought. They go to the wayside inn, not into the city, for poverty is too timid to venture among the rich. Note the extent of their poverty. They go to a wayside inn. Holy Scripture did not say that the inn was on the road, but on a wayside off the road, not on it, but beyond it; not on the way of the Law, but on the byway of the Gospel, on the byroad. There was no other place unoccupied for the birth of the Savior except a manger, a manger to which were tethered cattle and donkeys. O, if only I were permitted to see that manger in which the Lord lay! Now, as an honor to Christ, we have taken away the manger of clay and have replaced it with crib of silver, but more precious to me is the one that has been removed. Silver and gold are appropriate for unbelievers; Christian faith is worthy of the manger that is made of clay. He who was born in that manger cared nothing for gold and silver. I do not find fault with those who made the change in the cause of honor (nor do I look with disfavor upon those in the Temple who made vessels of gold), but I marvel at the Lord, the Creator of the universe, who is born, not surrounded by gold and silver, but by mud and clay.

"There were shepherds in the fields nearby keeping watch." (Luke 2:8) They will not find Christ unless they keep watch, which is the shepherd's duty. Christ is not found except by the alert. That is why the bride says: "I was sleeping, but my heart was awake." (Song 5:2) "Indeed the guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps." (Ps. 121:4) There were shepherds in the fields nearby. Herod was there; the high priests, the Pharisees were there; while they were sleeping, Christ is found in a lonely grotto.

"Shepherds keeping watch over their flock at night." They were guarding their flock so that the wolf would not attack while they slept. They were keeping careful watch; the threat to the flock from the treachery of wild animals was reason enough. They were keeping watch, as it were, over the Lord's flock, but they could not keep it safe; therefore they urgently asked the Lord to come and save it.

"An angel of the Lord stood by them." (Luke 2:9) They who were so alert deserved to have an angel come to them.

"The glory of God shone around them, and they were terrified." Human fear is unable to gaze on a magnificent and majestic vision. Because they were so thoroughly terrified, the angel speaks and, like a healing salve applied to wounds, restores their confidence.

"Do not be afraid," for you cannot grasp what I am saying if you are paralyzed by fear.

"There has been born to you today in the town of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11) These are weighty words. While they were so astonished, "suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying." (Luke 2:13) Since one angel had announced the nativity of the Lord, and so that it would not seem that only one testifies, the entire host resounds in one song of keep praise: "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth found among those of good will." (Luke 2:14) If sins, according to the heretics, are a daily occurrence in heaven, how can there be glory in heaven, and why is peace prayed for on earth? Notice what the Gospel says. In heaven, where there is no conflict, glory rules; on earth, where every day is warfare, peace prevails. On earth peace. Peace among whom? Among humans. Why are the Gentiles without peace; why, too, the Jews? That is exactly the reason for the qualification: peace among those of good will, among those who acknowledge the birth of Christ.

"The shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go to Bethlehem.'" (Luke 2:15) Let us leave the deserted Temple and go to Bethlehem. "And see the word which was made." Truly alert, they did not say, "Let us see the child, let us find out what is being announced"; but, "Let us see the word that has been made."

In the beginning was the Word … And the Word was made flesh." (John 1:1, 14) The Word that has always been, let us see how it was made for us. "And see this word which was made, which the Lord has made, and has made known to us." (cf. Luke 2:15) This same Word made itself, inasmuch as were this same Word is the Lord. Let us see, therefore, in what way this same Word, the Lord himself, has made himself and has made his flesh known to us. Because we could not see him as long as he was the Word, let us see his flesh because it is flesh; let us see how the Word was made flesh.

"So they went with haste." (Luke 2:16) The eager longing of their souls gave wings to their feet; they could not keep pace with their desire to see him: "So they went with haste." Because they ran so eagerly, they find him whom they were seeking. Let us see what they find.

"Mary and Joseph." If she were truly the wife, it would be improper to say, they found the wife and the husband; but the Gospel named the woman first, then the man. What does Holy Scripture say? "They found Mary and Joseph": they found Mary, the mother, and Joseph, the guardian.

"And the babe lying in the manger." And when they had seen him, they understood concerning the word, what had been told them concerning this child.

"But Mary kept in mind all these words, pondering them in her heart." (Luke 2:16-19) What does pondering mean? It must have meant weighing carefully in her heart, meditating within herself, and comparing notes in her heart. A certain interpreter explains "pondering in her heart" as follows: she was a holy woman, had read the Sacred Scriptures, knew the prophets, and was recalling that the angel Gabriel had said to her the same things that the prophets had foretold. She was pondering in her heart whether the prophets anticipated the words: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and therefore the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35) Gabriel had said that; Isaiah had foretold: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son." (Isa. 7:14) She had read the latter; she had heard the former. She looked at the child lying before her; she saw the child crying in the manger; she saw there the Son of God, her Son, her one and only Son; she looked at him, and in her musing, she compared what she had heard with what she had read and with what she herself perceived.

Since she was pondering in her heart, let us, likewise, meditate in our hearts that on this day Christ is born. There are some who think that he was born on Epiphany. We do not condemn the opinion of others, but follow the conclusions of our own study. "Let everyone be convinced in his own mind and perhaps the Lord will make it clear to each one." (cf. Rom. 14:5; Phil. 3:15) Both those who say the Lord is born then, and we who say he is born today, worship one Lord, acknowledge one Babe. Let us review a few facts, however, not to rebuke others by our reasoning, but to confirm our own position. We are not airing our own opinion, but supporting tradition. The common consent of the world is contrary to the thinking of this province. Perhaps someone may object: "Christ was born here; are they who are far away better informed than those who are close by? Who told you?" They who are of this province, of course, the apostles, Peter and Paul, and the rest of them. You have rejected tradition; we have accepted it; Peter who was here with John, who lived here with James, taught us also in the West. The apostles are both your teachers and ours.

Here is another fact. The Jews, at that time, were ruling in Judea. Furthermore, the Acts of the Apostles reports: "On that day a great persecution broke out and those who believed were scattered abroad." (Acts 8:1) They went into Cyprus and into Antioch, and the dispersed Jews penetrated the whole world. Since, therefore, the Jews were in power for forty-two years after the Ascension of the Lord, everywhere else there was peace; here, alone, there was war. Tradition could, then, be preserved more easily in the West than in Judea where there was conflict. After forty-two years, the armies of Vespasian and Titus arrived; Jerusalem was overthrown and destroyed; all the Jews and Christians were driven out, every one of them. Until the time of Hadrian, Jerusalem remained a wilderness; there was not one Jew nor one Christian left in this entire province. Then Hadrian came and, because another revolution of the Jews broke out in Galilee, he destroyed what had remained of the city. He further proclaimed by law that no Jew was permitted to approach Jerusalem, and brought new settlers into the city from different provinces. I might mention that Hadrian's name was Aelius Hadrian, and that, after he destroyed Jerusalem, he called the restored city Aelia.

Why am I saying all this? Because they say to us: This is where the apostles lived; this is where the tradition has been established. Now, we say that Christ was born today; on Epiphany, he was reborn. You who maintain he was born on Epiphany prove for us generation and regeneration. When did he receive baptism, unless you face the consequence that on the same day he was born and reborn? Even nature is in agreement with our claim, for the world itself bears witness to our statement. Up to this day, darkness increases; from this day on, it decreases; light increases, darkness decreases; the day waxes, error wanes; truth advances. For us today, the Sun of justice is born. In conclusion, consider another point. Between the Lord and John the Baptist, there are six months. If you study the nativity of John in relation to Christ's, you will see that they are six months apart.

Since we have touched on many things and have heard the Babe crying in the manger and have adored him there, let us continue our adoration of him today. Let us pick him up in our arms and adore him as the Son of God. Mighty God who for so long a time thundered in heaven and did not redeem humanity, cries and as a babe redeems him. Why do I say all this? Because pride never brings salvation, but humility does. As long as the Son of God was in heaven, he was not adored; he descends to earth and is adored. He had beneath him the sun, the moon, the angels, and he was not adored; on earth, he is born perfect man, a whole man, to heal the whole world. Whatever of human nature he did not assume, he could not save; if he assumed only the body and not the soul, he did not save the soul. Did he, then, save what is of less value and not redeem that which is of greater? If, however, they admit that he saved the soul that he assumed, then consider that, just as the soul is superior to the body, reason is similarly the ruling faculty of the soul itself. If Christ did not redeem human rationality, neither did he save the soul which is less. You reply that he did not take upon himself a human mind, in order that his heart might be free from human vices, evil thoughts, and desires. Do you mean, therefore, that if he could not control what he made, I should consider myself unworthy if I cannot conquer what he should have conquered?

We have forgotten our resolution and said more than we intended; the mind planned to do one thing, the tongue in its zeal slipped ahead. Let us be ready now to give our attention to the Bishop and earnestly take to heart what he has to say on what I have left out. Let us bless the Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

From The Homilies of Saint Jerome, ed. Marie Ligouri Ewald, in The Fathers of the Church, vol. 57. Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1966, pgs 221-28.

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Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

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Hymn on the Nativity

By St. Ephraim the Syrian

Blessed be that Child, Who gladdened Bethlehem to-day! Blessed be the Babe Who made manhood young again to-day! Blessed be the Fruit, Who lowered Himself to our famished state! Blessed be the Good One, Who suddenly enriched our necessitousness and supplied our needs! Blessed He Whose tender mercies made Him condescend to visit our infirmities!
Praise to the Fountain that was sent for our propitiation. Praise be to Him Who made void the Sabbath by fulfilling it! Praise too to Him Who rebuked the leprosy and it remained not, Whom the fever saw and fled! Praise to the Merciful, Who bore our toil! Glory to Thy coming, which quickened the sons of men!

Glory to Him, Who came to us by His first-born! Glory to the Silence, that spake by His Voice. Glory to the One on high, Who was seen by His Day-spring! Glory to the Spiritual, Who was pleased to have a Body, that in it His virtue might be felt, and He might by that Body show mercy on His household’s bodies!

Glory to that Hidden One, Whose Son was made manifest! Glory to that Living One, Whose Son was made to die! Glory to that Great One, Whose Son descended and was small! Glory to the Power Who did straiten His greatness by a form, His unseen nature by a shape! With eye and mind we have beheld Him, yea with both of them.

Glory to that Hidden One, Who even with the mind cannot be felt at all by them that pry into Him; but by His graciousness was felt by the hand of man! The Nature that could not be touched, by His hands was bound and tied, by His feet was pierced and lifted up. Himself of His own will He embodied for them that took Him.

Blessed be He Whom free will crucified, because He let it: blessed be He Whom the wood also did bear, because He allowed it. Blessed be He Whom the grave bound, that had [thereby] a limit set it. Blessed be He Whose own will brought Him to the Womb and Birth, to arms and to increase [in stature]. Blessed He whose changes purchased life for human nature.

Blessed He Who sealed our soul, and adorned it and espoused it to Himself. Blessed He Who made our Body a tabernacle for His unseen Nature. Blessed He Who by our tongue interpreted His secret things. Let us praise that Voice whose glory is hymned with our lute, and His virtue with our harp. The Gentiles have assembled and have come to hear His strains.

Glory to the Son of the Good One, Whom the sons of the evil one rejected! Glory to the Son of the Just One, Whom the sons of wickedness crucified! Glory to Him Who loosed us, and was bound for us all! Glory to Him Who gave the pledge, and redeemed it too! Glory to the Beautiful, Who conformed us to His image! Glory to that Fair One, Who looked not to our foulnesses!

Glory to Him Who sowed His Light in the darkness, and was reproached in His hidden state, and covered His secret things. He also stripped and took off from us the clothing of our filthiness. Glory be to Him on high, Who mixed His salt in our minds, His leaven in our souls. His Body became Bread, to quicken our deadness.

Praise to the Rich, Who paid for us all, that which He borrowed not; and wrote [His bill], and also became our debtor! By His yoke He brake from us the chains of him that led us captive. Glory to the Judge Who was judged, and made His Twelve to sit in judgment on the tribes, and by ignorant men condemned the scribes of that nation!

Glory to Him Who could never be measured by us! Our heart is too small for Him, yea our mind is too feeble. He makes foolish our littleness by the riches of His Wisdom. Glory to Him, Who lowered Himself, and asked; that He might hear and learn that which He knew; that He might by His questions reveal the treasure of His helpful graces!

Let us adore Him Who enlightened with His doctrine our mind, and in our hearing sought a pathway for His words. Praise we Him Who grafted into our tree His fruit. Thanks to Him Who sent His Heir, that by Him He might draw us to Himself, yea make us heirs with Him! Thanks to that Good One, the cause of all goods!

Blessed He Who did not chide, because that He was good! Blessed He Who did not spurn, because that He was just also! Blessed He Who was silent, and rebuked; that He might quicken us with both! Severe His silence and reproachful. Mild His severity even When He was accusing; for He rebuked the traitor, and kissed the thief.

Glory to the hidden Husbandman of our intellects! His seed fell on to our ground, and made our mind rich. His increase came an hundredfold into the treasury of our souls! Let us adore Him Who sat down and took rest; and walked in the way, so that the Way was in the way, and the Door also for them that go in, by which they go in to the kingdom.

Blessed the Shepherd Who became a Lamb for our reconcilement! Blessed the Branch Who became the Cup of our Redemption! Blessed also be the Cluster, Fount of medicine of life! Blessed also be the Tiller, Who became Wheat, that He might be sown; and a Sheaf, that He might be cut! [Blessed be] the Architect Who became a Tower for our place of safety! Blessed He Who so tempered the feelings of our mind, that we with our harp should sing that which the winged creatures’ mouth knows not with its strains to sing! Glory to Him, Who beheld how we had pleased to be like to brutes in our rage and our greediness; and came down and was one of us, that we might become heavenly!

Glory be to Him, Who never felt the need of our praising Him; yet felt the need as being kind to us, and thirsted as loving us, and asks us to give to Him, and longs to give to us. His fruit was mingled with us men, that in Him we might come nigh to Him, Who condescended to us. By the Fruit of His stem He grafted us into His Tree.

Let us praise Him, Who prevailed and quickened us by His stripes! Praise we Him, Who took away the curse by His thorns! Praise we Him Who put death to death by His dying! Praise we Him, Who held His peace and justified us! Praise we Him, Who rebuked death that had overcome us! Blessed He, Whose helpful graces cleansed out the left side!

Praise we Him Who watched and put to sleep him that led us captive. Praise we Him Who went to sleep, and chased our deep sleep away. Glory be to God Who cured weak manhood! Glory be to Him Who was baptized, and drowned our iniquity in the deep, and choked him that choked us! Let us glorify with all our mouths the Lord of all creatures!

Blessed be the Physician Who came down and amputated without pain, and healed wounds with a medicine that was not harsh. His Son became a Medicine, that showed sinners mercy. Blessed be He Who dwelt in the womb, and wrought therein a perfect Temple, that He might dwell in it, a Throne that He might be in it, a Garment that He might be arrayed in it, and a Weapon that He might conquer in it.

Blessed be He Whom our mouth cannot adequately praise, because His Gift is too great for skill of orators [to tell]; neither can the faculties adequately praise His goodness. For praise Him as we may, it is too little.

And since it is useless to be silent and to constrain ourselves, may our feebleness excuse such praise as we can sing.

How gracious He, Who demands not more than our strength can give! How would Thy servant be condemned in capital and interest, did he not give such as he could, and did he refuse that which He owed! Ocean of glory Who needest not to have Thy glory sung, take in Thy goodness this drop of praise; since by Thy Gift Thou hast supplied my tongue a sense for glorifying Thee.

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Another Hymn by St. Ephraim

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

The Nativity of Christ (source)


Homily V on the Nativity of Christ, by St. Ephraim the Syrian
At the birth of the Son, there was a great shouting in Bethlehem; for the Angels came down, and gave praise there. Their voices were a great thunder: at that voice of praise the silent ones came, and gave praise to the Son.

Blessed be that Babe in whom Eve and Adam were restored to youth! The shepherds also came laden with the best gifts of their flock: sweet milk, clean flesh, befitting praise! They put a difference, and gave Joseph the flesh, Mary the milk, and the Son the praise! They brought and presented a suckling lamb to the Paschal Lamb, a first-born to the First-born, a sacrifice to the Sacrifice, a lamb of time to the Lamb of Truth. Fair sight [to see] the lamb offered to The Lamb!

The lamb bleated as it was offered before the First-born. It praised the Lamb, that had come to set free the flocks and the oxen from sacrifices: yea that Paschal Lamb, Who handed down and brought in the Passover of the Son.

The shepherds came near and worshipped Him with their staves. They saluted Him with peace, prophesying the while, "Peace, O Prince of the Shepherds." The rod of Moses praised Thy Rod, O Shepherd of all; for Thee Moses praises, although his lambs have become wolves, and his flocks as it were dragons, and his sheep ranged beasts. In the fearful wilderness his flocks became furious, and attacked him.

Thee then the Shepherds praise, because Thou hast reconciled the wolves and the lambs within the fold; O Babe, that art older than Noah and younger than Noah, that reconciled all within the ark amid the billows!

David Thy father for a lamb's sake slaughtered a lion. Thou, O Son of David, hast killed the unseen wolf that murdered Adam, the simple lamb who fed and bleated in Paradise.

At that voice of praise, brides were moved to hallow themselves, and virgins to be chaste, and even young girls became grave: they advanced and came in multitudes, and worshipped the Son.

Aged women of the city of David came to the daughter of David; they gave thanks and said, "Blessed be our country, whose streets are lightened with the rays of Jesse! Today is the throne of David established by Thee, O Son of David."

The old men cried, "Blessed be that Son Who restored Adam to youth, Who was vexed to see that he was old and worn out, and that the serpent who had killed him, had changed his skin and had gotten himself away. Blessed be the Babe in Whom Adam and Eve were restored to youth."

The chaste women said, O Blessed Fruit, bless the fruit of our wombs; to Thee may they be given as first-born. They waxed fervent and prophesied concerning their children, who, when they were killed for Him, were cut off, as it were first-fruits.

The barren also fondled Him, and carried Him; they rejoiced and said, Blessed Fruit born without marriage, bless the wombs of us that are married; have mercy on our barrenness, Thou wonderful Child of Virginity!

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The Divine Child

By Father Alexander Schmemann

“The eternal God was born as a little child.”

One of the main hymns of Christmas ends with these words, identifying the child born in a Bethlehem cave as “the eternal God.” This hymn was composed in the sixth century by the famous Byzantine hymnographer Roman the Melodist:

Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One,
And the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One!
Angels, with shepherds, glorify him!
The wise men journey with the star!
Since for our sake the eternal God was born as a little child!
(Kontakion of Christmas)

The Child as God, God as Child…Why does joyful excitement build over the Christmas season as people, even those of lukewarm faith and unbelievers, behold that unique, incomparable sight of the young mother holding the child in her arms, and around them the “wise men from the East,” the shepherds fresh from night-watch in their fields, the animals, the open sky, the star? Why are we so certain, and discover again and again, that on this sorrowful planet of ours there is nothing more beautiful and joyful than this sight, which the passage of centuries has proven incapable of uprooting from our memory? We return to this sight whenever we have nowhere else to go, whenever we have been tormented by life and are in search of something that might deliver us…

It is the words “child” and “God” which give us the most striking revelation about the Christmas mystery. In a certain profound way, this is a mystery directed toward the child who continues to secretly live within every adult, to the child who continues to hear what the adult no longer hears, and who responds with a joy which the adult, in his mundane, grown-up, tired and cynical world, is no longer capable of feeling. Yes, Christmas is a feast for children, not just because of the tree that we decorate and light, but in the much deeper sense that children alone are unsurprised that when God comes to us on earth, he comes as a child.

This image of God as child continues to shine on us through icons and through innumerable works of art, revealing that what is most essential and joyful in Christianity is found precisely here, in this eternal childhood of God. Adults, even the most sympathetic to “religious themes,” desire and expect religion to give explanations and analysis; they want it to be intelligent and serious. Its opponents are just as serious, and in the end, just as boring, as they confront religion with a hail of “rational” bullets. In our society, nothing better conveys our contempt than to say “it’s childish.” In other words, it’s not for adults, for the intelligent and serious. So children grow up and become equally serious and boring. Yet Christ said “become like children” (Mt 18:3). What does this mean? What are adults missing, or better, what has been choked, drowned or deafened by a thick layer of adulthood? Above all, is it not that capacity, so characteristic of children, to wonder, to rejoice and, most importantly, to be whole both in joy and sorrow? Adulthood chokes as well the ability to trust, to let go and give one’s self completely to love and to believe with all one’s being. And finally, children take seriously what adults are no longer capable of accepting: dreams, that which breaks through our everyday experience and our cynical mistrust, that deep mystery of the world and everything within it revealed to saints, children, and poets.

Thus, only when we break through to the child living hidden within us, can we inherit as our own the joyful mystery of God coming to us as a child. The child has neither authority nor power, yet the very absence of authority reveals him to be a king; his defenselessness and vulnerability are precisely the source of his profound power. The child in that distant Bethlehem cave has no desire that we fear him; He enters our hearts not by frightening us, by proving his power and authority, but by love alone. He is given to us as a child, and only as children can we in turn love him and give ourselves to him. The world is ruled by authority and power, by fear and domination. The child God liberates us from that. All He desires from us is our love, freely given and joyful; all He desires is that we give him our heart. And we give it to a defenseless, endlessly trusting child.

Through the feast of Christmas, the Church reveals to us a joyful mystery: the mystery of freely given love imposing itself on no one. A love capable of seeing, recognizing and loving God in the Divine Child, and becoming the gift of a new life.

– Excerpt from Celebration of Faith, Vol. 2: The Church Year by Fr. Alexander Schmemann

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The Word became flesh (John 1, 14)

A Sermon on the Nativity of Christ

The Word became flesh; that is, the Son of God, co-eternal with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit, became human — having become incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. O, wondrous, awesome and salvific mystery! The One Who had no beginning took on a beginning according to humanity; the One without flesh assumed flesh. God became man — without ceasing to be God. The Unapproachable One became approachable to all, in the aspect of a servant. Why, and for what reason, was there such a condescension [shown] on the part of the Creator toward His transgressing creatures — toward humanity which, through an act of its own will had fallen away from God, its Creator?

It was by reason of a supreme, inexpressible mercy toward His creation on the part of the Master, Who could not bear to see the entire race of mankind — which, He, in creating, had endowed with wondrous gifts — enslaved by the devil and thus destined for eternal suffering and torment. And the Word became flesh!…in order to make us earthly beings into heavenly ones, in order to make sinners into saints; in order to raise us up from corruption into incorruption, from earth to heaven; from enslavement to sin and the devil — into the glorious freedom of children of God; from death — into immortality, in order to make us sons of God and to seat us together with Him upon the Throne as His royal children.

O, boundless compassion of God! O, inexpressible wisdom of God! O, great wonder, astounding not only the human mind, but the angelic [mind] as well!

Let us glorify God! With the coming of the Son of God in the flesh upon the earth, with His offering Himself up as a sacrifice for the sinful human race, there is given to those who believe the blessing of the Heavenly Father, replacing that curse which had been uttered by God in the beginning; they are adopted and receive the promise of an eternal inheritance of life. To a humanity orphaned by reason of sin, the Heavenly Father returns anew through the mystery of re-birth, that is, through baptism and repentance. People are freed of the tormenting, death-bearing authority of the devil, of the afflictions of sin and of various passions. Human nature is deified for the sake of the boundless compassion of the Son of God; and its sins are purified; the defiled are sanctified. The ailing are healed. Upon those in dishonor are boundless honor and glory bestowed. Those in darkness are enlightened by the Divine light of grace and reason. The human mind is given the rational power of God – we have the mind of Christ (Cor. 2, 16), says the Holy apostle Paul. To the human heart, the heart of Christ is given. The perishable is made immortal. Those naked and wounded by sin and by passions are adorned in Divine glory. Those who hunger and thirst are sated and assuaged by the nourishing and soul-strengthening Word of God and by the most pure Body and Divine Blood of Christ. The inconsolable are consoled. Those ravaged by the devil have been — and continue to be — delivered.

What, then, O, brethren, is required of us in order that we might avail ourselves of all the grace brought unto us from on high by the coming to earth of the Son of God? What is necessary, first of all, is faith in the Son of God, in the Gospel as the salvation-bestowing heavenly teaching; a true repentance of sins and the correction of life and of heart; communion in prayer and in the mysteries [sacraments]; the knowledge and fulfillment of Christ’s commandments. Also necessary are the virtues: Christian humility, alms-giving, continence, purity and chastity, simplicity and goodness of heart.

Let us, then, O brother and sister, bring these virtues as a gift to the One Who was born for the sake of our salvation — let us bring them in place of the gold, frankincense and myrrh which the Magi brought Him, as to One Who is King, God, and Man, come to die for us. This, from us, shall be the most-pleasing form of sacrifice to God and to the Infant Jesus Christ.

Amen.

(Translated into English by G. Spruksts, from the Russian text appearing in Chapter 2 of The Sun of Righteousness: On the Life and Teaching of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, by Protopriest [St.] Ioann [John] (Sergiev) of Kronstadt, pp. 4-6. English translation © 1983, 1996 by The Saint Stefan of Perm’ Guild, The Russian Cultural Heritage Society, and George Spruksts)

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St. Ephraim the Syrian's 100 Stanzas on the Nativity


By St. Ephraim the Syrian

1. This is the day that gladdened them, the Prophets, Kings, and Priests, for in it were their words fulfilled, and thus were the whole of them indeed performed!

2. For the Virgin this day brought forth Immanuel in Bethlehem. The voice that of old Isaiah spake, today became reality.

3. He was born there who in writing should tell the Gentiles’ number! The Psalm that David once sang, by its fulfillment came today!

4. The word that Micah once spake, today was come indeed to pass! For there came from Ephratha a Shepherd, and His staff swayed over souls.

5. Lo! from Jacob shone the Star, and from Israel rose the Head. The prophecy that Balaam spake had its interpreting today!

6. Down also came the hidden Light, and from the Body rose His beauty! The light that spake in Zacharias, today shined in Bethlehem!

7. Risen is the Light of the kingdom, in Ephratha the city of the King. The blessing wherewith Jacob blessed, to its fulfillment came today!

8. That tree likewise, the tree of life, brings hope to mortal men! Solomon’??s hidden proverb had today its explanation!

9. Today was born the Child, and His name was called Wonder! For a wonder it is that God as a Babe should show Himself.

10. By the word Worm did the Spirit foreshow Him in parable, because His generation was without marriage. The type that the Holy Ghost figured today its meaning was explained.

11. He came up as a root before Him, as a root of parched ground. Aught that covertly was said, openly today was done!

12. The King that in Judah was hidden, Tamar stole Him from his thigh. Today arose His conquering beauty, which in hidden estate she loved.

13. Ruth at Boaz’ side lay down, because the Medicine of Life hidden in him she perceived. Today was fulfilled her vow, since from her seed arose the Quickener of all.

14. Travail Adam on the woman brought, that from him had come forth. She today her travail ransomed, who to her a Saviour bare!

15. To Eve our mother a man gave birth, who himself had had no birth. How much more should Eve’??s daughter be believed to have borne a Child without a man!

16. The virgin earth, she bare that Adam that was head over the earth! The Virgin bare today the Adam that was Head over the Heavens.

17. The staff of Aaron, it budded, and the dry wood yielded fruit! Its mystery is cleared up today, for the virgin womb a Child hath borne!

18. Shamed is that people which holds the prophets as true; for unless our Saviour has come, their words have been falsified!

19. Blessed be the True One Who came from the Father of the Truth and fulfilled the true seers’?? words, which were accomplished in their truth.

20. From thy treasure-house put forth, Lord, from the coffers of Thy Scriptures, names of righteous men of old, who looked to see Thy coming!

21. Seth who was in Abel’??s stead shadowed out the Son as slain, by Whose death was dulled the envy Cain had brought into the world!

22. Noah saw the sons of God, saints that sudden waxed wanton, and the Holy Son he looked for, by whom lewd men were turned to holiness.

23. The brothers twain, that covered Noah, saw the only Son of God who should come to hide the nakedness of Adam, who was drunk with pride.

24. Shem and Japhet, being gracious, looked for the gracious Son, Who should come and set free Canaan from the servitude of sin.

25. Melchizedek expected Him; as His vicegerent, looked that he might see the Priesthood’??s Lord whose hyssop purifies the world.

26. Lot beheld the Sodomites how they perverted nature: for nature’s Lord he looked who gave a holiness not natural.

27. Him Aaron looked for, for he saw that if his rod ate serpents up, His cross would eat the Serpent up that had eaten Adam and Eve.

28. Moses saw the uplifted serpent that had cured the bites of asps, and he looked to see Him who would heal the ancient Serpent’??s wound.

29. Moses saw that he himself alone retained the brightness from God, and he looked for Him who came and multiplied gods by His teaching.

30. Caleb the spy bore the cluster on the staff, and came and longed to see the Cluster, Whose wine should comfort the world.

31. Him did Jesus son of Nun long for, that he might conceive the force of his own surname: for if by His name he waxed so mighty, how much more would He by His Birth?

32. This Jesus that gathered and carried, and brought with him of the fruit, was longing for the Tree of Life to taste the Fruit that quickens all.

33. For Him Rahab too was looking; for when the scarlet thread in type redeemed her from wrath, in type she tasted of the Truth.

34. For Him Elijah longed, and when Him on earth he saw not, he, through faith most throughly cleansed, mounted up in heaven to see Him.

35. Moses saw Him and Elijah; the meek man from the depth ascended, the zealous from on high descended, and in the midst beheld the Son.

36. They figured the mystery of His Advent: Moses was a type of the dead, and Elijah a type of the living, that fly to meet Him at His coming.

37. For the dead that have tasted death, them He makes to be first: and the rest that are not buried, are last caught up to meet Him.

38. Who is there that can count me up the just that looked for the Son, whose number cannot be determined by the mouth of us weak creatures?

39. Pray ye for me, O beloved, that another time with strength endued, I in another legend may so set forth their foretaste, as I am able.

40. Who is adequate to the praising of the Son of the Truth that has risen to us? For it was for Him the righteous longed, that in their generation they might see Him.

41. Adam looked for Him, for He is the Cherub’s Lord, and could minister an entrance and a residence hard by the branches of the Tree of life.

42. Abel longed after Him, that in his days He might come; that instead of that lamb that he offered, the Lamb of God he might behold.

43. For Him Eve also looked; for woman’s nakedness was sore, and He capable to clothe them; not with leaves, but with that same glory that they had exchanged away.

44. The tower that the many builded, in mystery looked for One, who coming down would build on earth a tower that lifts up to Heaven.

45. Yea the ark of living creatures looked in a type for our Lord; for He should build the Holy Church, wherein souls find a refuge.

46. In Peleg’s days earth was divided into tongues, threescore and ten. For Him Who by the tongues, to His Apostles divided earth.

47. Earth which the flood had swallowed up, in silence cried to her Lord. He came down and opened Baptism, and men were drawn by it to Heaven.

48. Seth and Enos, Cainan too, were surnamed sons of God; for the Son of God they looked, that they by grace might be His brethren.

49. But little short of a thousand years did Methuselah live: He looked for the Son Who makes heirs of life that never ends!

50. Grace itself in hidden mystery was beseeching on their behalf that their Lord might come in their age and fill up their shortcomings.

51. For the Holy Spirit in them, in their stead, besought with meditation: He stirred them up, and in Him did they look on that Redeemer, after whom they longed.

52. The soul of just men perceive in the Son a Medicine of life; and so it felt desires that He might come in its own days, and then would it taste His sweetness.

53. Enoch was longing for Him, and since on earth the Son he saw not, he was justified by great faith, and mounted up in Heaven to see Him.

54. Who is there that will spurn at grace, when the Gift that they of old gained not by much labour, freely comes to men now?

55. For Him Lamech also looked who might come and lovingly give Him quiet from his labour and the toiling of his hands, and from the earth the Just One had cursed.

56. Lamech then beheld his son, Noah, him, in whom were figured types relating to the Son. In the stead of the Lord afar off, the type at hand afforded quiet.

57. Yea Noah also longed to see Him, the taste of whose assisting graces he had tasted. For if the type of Him preserved living things, Himself how sure to bestow life upon souls!

58. Noah longed for Him, by trial knowing Him, for through Him had the ark been established. For if the type of Him thus saved life, assuredly much more would He in person.

59. Abraham perceived in Spirit that the Son’s Birth was far off; instead of Him in person he rejoiced to see even His day.

60. To see Him Isaac longed, as having tasted the taste of His redemption; for if the sign of Him so gave life, much more would He by the reality.

61. Joyous were today the Watchers, that the Wakeful came to wake us! Who would pass this night in slumber, in which all the world was watching?

62. Since Adam brought into the world the sleep of death by sins, the Wakeful came down that He might awake us from the deep sleep of sin.

63. Watch not we as usurers, who thinking on money put to interest, watch at night so oft, to reckon up their capital, and interest.

64. Wakeful and cautious is the thief, who in the earth hath buried and concealed his sleep. His wakefulness all comes to this, that he may cause much wakefulness to them that be asleep.

65. Wakeful likewise is the glutton, who hath eaten much and is restless; his watching is to him his torment, because he was impatient of stint.

66. Wakeful likewise is the merchant; of a night he works his fingers telling over what pounds are coming, and if his wealth doubles or trebles.

67. Wakeful likewise is the rich man, whose sleep his riches chase away: his dogs sleep; he guards his treasures from the thieves.

68. Wakeful also is the careful, by his care his sleep is swallowed: though his end stands by his pillow, yet he wakes with cares for years to come.

69. Satan teaches, O my brethren, one watching instead of another; to good deeds to be sleepy, and to ill awake and watchful.

70. Even Judas Iscariot, for the whole night through was wakeful; and he sold the righteous Blood, that purchased the whole world.

71. The son of the dark one put on darkness, having stripped the Light from off him: and Him who created silver, for silver the thief sold.

72. Yea, Pharisees, the dark one’s sons, all the night through kept awake: the dark ones watched that they might veil the Light which is unlimited.

73. Ye then watch as heaven’s lights in this night of starry light. For though so dark be its colour yet in virtue it is clear.

74. For whoever is like this clear One, wakeful and prayerful in darkness, him in this darkness visible a light unseen surrounds!

75. The bad man that in daylight stands, yet as a son of darkness deals; though with light clad outwardly, inly is with darkness girt.

76. Be we not deceived, beloved, by the fact that we are watching! For whoso does not rightly watch, his watch is an unrighteous watch.

77. Whoso watches not cheerfully, his watching is but a sleeping: whoso also watches not innocently, even his waking is his foe.

78. This is the waking of the envious one! a solid mass, compact with harm. That watch is but a trafficking, with scorn and mockery compact.

79. The wrathful man if he wakes, fretful with wrath his wake will be, and his watching proves to him full of rage and of cursings.

80. If the babbler be waking, then his mouth becomes a passage which for sins is ready but for prayers shows hindrance.

81. The wise man, if so be he that watches, one of two things chooseth him; either takes sweet, moderate, sleep, or a holy vigil keeps.

82. That night is fair, wherein He Who is Fair rose to come and make us fair. Let not aught that may disturb it enter into our watch!

83. Fair be kept the ear’s approach, chaste the seeing of the eye! hallowed the musing of the heart! the speaking of the mouth be cleared.

84. Mary hid in us today leaven that came from Abraham. Let us then so pity beggars as did Abraham the needy. Today the rennet fell on us from the gentle David’??s house.

85. Let a man show mercy to his persecutors, as did Jesse’s son to Saul. The prophets’ sweet salt is today sprinkled among the Gentiles.

86. Let us gain a new savor by that whereby the ancient people lost their savor. Let us speak the speech of wisdom; speak we not of things outside it, lest we ourselves be outside it!

87. In this night of reconcilement let no man be wroth or gloomy! in this night that stills all, none that threatens or disturbs!

88. This night belongs to the sweet One; bitter or harsh be in it none! In this night that is the meek One’??s, high or haughty be in it none!

89. In this day of pardoning let us not exact trespasses! In this day of gladnesses let us not spread sadnesses!

90. In this day so sweet, let us not be harsh! In this day of peaceful rest, let us not be wrathful in it!

91. In this day when God came to sinners, let not the righteous be in his mind uplifted over sinner!

92. In this day in which there came the Lord of all unto the servants, let masters too condescend to their servants lovingly!

93. In this day in which the Rich became poor for our sakes, let the rich man make the poor man share with him at his table.

94. On this day to us came forth the Gift, although we asked it not! Let us therefore bestow alms on them that cry and beg of us.

95. This is the day that opened for us a gate on high to our prayers. Let us open also gates to supplicants that have transgressed, and of us have asked forgiveness.

96. Today the Lord of nature was against His nature changed; let it not to us be irksome to turn our evil wills.

97. Fixed in nature is the body; great or less it cannot become: but the will has such dominion, it can grow to any measure.

98. This is the day that gladdened them, the Prophets, Kings, and Priests, for in it were their words fulfilled, and thus were the whole of them indeed performed!

99. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Today Godhead sealed itself upon Manhood, that so with the Godhead’s stamp Manhood might be adorned.

100. Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. The voice that of old Isaiah spake, today became reality. For the Virgin this day brought forth Immanuel in Bethlehem.

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Why Jesus Had To Be Virgin Born - St. Maximus the Confessor Explains


Pleasure and Pain According to St. Maximus the Confessor

By Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos

In his Centuries on Theology St. Maximus the Confessor refers to the nexus of the dualism of pleasure and pain, which, by any standard, is an important subject. This means that we cannot discuss Orthodox Theology if we fail to face this crucial point, because the transcendence of pleasure and pain is, precisely, a prerequisite for correct Orthodox Theology. As St. Maximus the Confessor says, the transcendence of pleasure and pain proves that man has cleansed his heart from the passions.

As we pointed out above, the whole of modern life is governed by pleasure and pain, since, in our age, enjoyment and the gratification of the senses dominate, while at the same time deep grief, an inner pain, prevails. In reality, modern man tries to escape pain through the satisfaction of sensual pleasure. All contemporary problems, such as AIDS and drugs, are to be found in this connection. This is why I believe it is extremely important to see this link between pleasure and pain, as elaborated by St. Maximus the Confessor.

a) The origin of pleasure and pain

The world was created by God in Trinity. The most perfect creature is man, for he is the apex of creation, the microcosm in the macrocosm. Analyzing the issue of the creation of man and its relation to the birth and the origin of pleasure and pain, St. Maximus says that God the Word who created man's nature, made it without pleasure and pain. "He did not make the senses susceptible to either pleasure or pain." He insists on this point by saying: "Pleasure and pain were not created simultaneously with the flesh."

While there was no pleasure and pain in man before the fall, there was a noetic faculty towards pleasure, through which man could enjoy God ineffably. But he misused this natural faculty. Man oriented the "the natural longing of the nous for God" to sensible things and thus "by the initial movement towards sensible things, the first man transferred this longing to his senses, and through them began to experience this pleasure in a way contrary to nature". The words "according to nature" and "contrary to nature" show the complete ontological change that took place in man and depict his fallen state clearly.

Of course, man did not invent this mode of operation of the faculties of the soul on his own, but with the advice of the devil. The devil was motivated by jealously against man, for whom God had shown special care and attention. It is interesting that the devil envied not only man but God Himself: "Since the devil is jealous of both us and god, he persuaded man by guile that God was jealous of him, and so made him break the commandment".

After the unnatural movement of the noetic capacity of the soul to sensible things and the birth of pleasure, God, being interested in man's salvation "implanted pain, as a kind of chastising force". Pain, which God, in His love for man, tied to sensual pleasure, is the whole complex of the mortal and passible body, that is the law of death, which has, ever since then, been very closely connected to human nature. In this way, the "manic longing of the nous" which incites the unnatural inclination of the soul to sensible things, is restrained.

This whole analysis by St. Maximus the Confessor in no way reminds us of Platonic teaching about the movement of the immortal soul from the unborn realm of the ideas, and its confinement to a mortal body which is the prison of the soul. This is simply because St. Maximus the Confessor, being an integral member of the entire Orthodox tradition, makes no distinction between a naturally immortal soul and a naturally mortal body, he does not believe in an immortal and unborn realm of ideas, and, obviously, does not adopt a dualistic view of man, according to which salvation consists in his liberation from the prison of the soul, which is the body. In St. Maximus' teaching there is a clear reference to the unnatural movement of the faculties of the soul and to the "manic longing of the nous", which draws the body into situations and acts which are against nature.

It is clear, then, that ancestral sin consists of the "initial movement of the soul" toward sensible things and in the "law of death" granted by God's love for man. Therefore, pleasure and pain constitute so-called original sin. Pleasure is the soul's initial movement toward sensible things, while pain is the whole law of death which took roots in man's existence and constitutes the law of the mortal flesh.

St. Maximus makes some marvellous observations. He states that the transgression (of the commandment) devised pleasure "in order to corrupt the will", i.e. man's freedom, and also imposed pain (death) "to cause the dissolution of man's nature". This means that pleasure causes sin, which is a voluntary death of the soul, while pain, through the separation of soul and body, causes the disintegration of the flesh. This was, actually, the work and objective of the devil, but God allowed the link between pleasure and pain. That is, He allowed death to come into man's existence on grounds of love and philanthropy, for pain is the refutation of pleasure. Thus, "God has providentially given man pain he has not chosen, together with death that follows from it, in order to chasten him for the pleasure he has chosen."

On several occasions, St. Maximus refers to "voluntary pleasure" and "irrational pleasure", as well as to "involuntary" and "sensible" pain. Pain balances the results of pleasure, that is, it subtracts pain, but does not completely revoke it.

Therefore, pleasure precedes pain, since all pain is caused by pleasure, and this is why it is called natural pain. For Adam and Eve, pleasure was without cause, that is, it was not preceded by pain, while pain, which is a natural consequence of pleasure, is an obligation, a debt, paid by all men who have the same human nature. This is what happened to Adam and Eve. For their descendants, things are a little different; the experience of pain leads them to the enjoyment of pleasure.

After the Fall and the entry of the law of sin and death into his existence, man is in a tragic state, because, even though pain reverses pleasure and annuls its active movement, man cannot reverse and eliminate the law of death which is found within his being, and this law brings a new experience of pleasure. "Philosophy towards virtue", namely man's whole ascetic struggle brings dispassion not in his will but in his nature, because asceticism cannot defeat death, which is found as a powerful law within man’s being. Herein lies the tragedy of man, who may cure pleasure and obtain inner balance through voluntary pain (asceticism) and involuntary events (external grief, death) but is unable to liberate himself from pain, which is determined by the law of death.

b) The purpose of Christ's incarnation

So far we have described how the link between pleasure and pain was established after the Fall. Pleasure was a result of the irrational movement of the faculty of the soul , with its natural consequence the coming of pain, along with the entire law of death. This combination of pleasure and pain became a law of human nature. Obviously, while living a life contrary to nature, man could not be delivered from this state which had become natural. Christ's incarnation contributed to man's liberation from this connection between pleasure and pain. St. Maximus the Confessor also makes some marvellous observations on this point too.

It was absolutely impossible for human nature which had fallen to voluntary pleasure and involuntary pain to return to the former state "had the Creator not become man". The mystery of incarnation lies in the fact that Christ was born human, but the beginning and cause of His birth was not sensual pleasure, for He was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, outside the human way of generation, and He embraced pain and death by His own free choice. For man, pain came as a result of sin, it was involuntary. While for Christ, who was born without sensual pleasure, pain was received by choice.

All humans born after the transgression, are born with sensual pleasure, which precedes their birth, because man is an offspring of his parents’ pleasure and, of course, no one is free, by nature, from impassioned generation provoked by pleasure. Thus man had the origin of his birth "in the corruption that comes from pleasure" and would finish his life "in the corruption that comes through death". Therefore, he was a complete slave to pleasure and pain "and he could not find the way to freedom". Humans are tortured by unjust pleasure and just pain and, of course, by their outcome which is death.

For man to return to his previous state and to be deified, an unjust pain and death without cause had to be invented. Death had to be without cause, not to be caused by pleasure, and unjust, not following an impassioned life. In this way, most unjust death would cure unjust pleasure which had caused just death and just pain. In this way mankind would enjoy freedom again, delivered from pleasure and pain. Christ became perfect man, having a noetic soul and a passible body, like ours, but without sin. He was born as a man by an immaculate conception and, thus, did not have any sensual pleasure whatsoever, but voluntarily accepted pain and death and suffered unjustly, out of love for man, in order to revoke the principle of human generation from unjust pleasure, which dominates human nature, and in order to eliminate nature’s just termination by death. Thus, Christ's immaculate conception as man and His voluntary assumption of the passibility of human nature, as well as His unjust death, liberated mankind from sensual pleasure, pain and death.

Christ's birth as man took place in a way contrary to that of humans. After the Fall, human nature has its principle of generation in "pleasure-provoked conception by sperm" from the father. A direct consequence of this sensual birth is the end, namely "painful death through corruption." But Christ could not possibly be ruled over by death, because He was not born in this pleasure-provoked way. With His incarnation, Christ offered a different principle of generation to man, the pleasure of the life to come, by means of pain. Adam, with his transgression, introduced a different way of generation, a generation originating in sensual pleasure and ending in pain, grief and death. Thus, everyone who descends from Adam according to the flesh, justly and painfully suffers the end from death. Christ offered a different way of generation, because, through His seedless generation (birth) and His voluntary and unjust death, He eliminated the principle of generation according to Adam (sensual pleasure) and the end which Adam came to (pain-death). In this way "he liberated from all those reborn spiritually in him".

The way by which Christ became incarnate and cured human nature reveals indisputably that He is wise, just and powerful. He is wise because He became a true man according to nature without being subjected to any change. He is just, because He voluntarily assumed passible human flesh, out of great condescension and love for man. This is also why He did not make man's salvation tortuous. He is also powerful, because He created eternal life and unchangeable dispassion in nature, through suffering and death, and in this way He did not show Himself to be at all incapable of achieving the cure of human nature.

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Christ Came to Pass Through All the Ranks of the Priesthood


The following is taken from the Saying of the Desert Fathers.

A certain elder who counseled against fornication said the following:

“Be like a man who passes through a street of taverns, and who smells the odor of boiling meats, or the whiff of something which is being roasted; he who wishes enters into one of them and eats, and he who does not wish to do so smells the meats as he passes by and then goes on. Drive away then from yourself the fetid smell of evil thoughts, and stand up and pray, saying, ‘O Son of God, help me.’ The same thing is also to be said about other thoughts, for we are not the roots of the thoughts, but are those who strive against them.”

This same elder spoke the following:

"Now on your account, O son of man, Christ was born, and the Son of God came that He might make you to live.

He became a Child, becoming a man, being also God.

He who was the Lawgiver became a Reader, and He took the book in the synagogue, and He read, saying, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and for this reason He has anointed me, and has sent me to preach the gospel unto the poor.'

Like a Subdeacon He made a whip of rope, and He drove forth from the temple all those who sold oxen, and cattle, and doves, and other things.

Like a Deacon He girded a napkin about His loins, and washed the feet of His disciples, and He commanded them to wash the feet of their brethren.

Like a Priest He sat among the priests, and taught the people.

Like a Bishop He took bread, and blessed and brake it, and gave to His disciples.

He was beaten for your sake, that is to say, for your sake He was crucified, and for your sake He died. Yet you for His sake will not even endure insult!

He rose as God. He was exalted as God. All these things for our sake, all these things by Divine Providence, all these things properly and in due order did He do that He might redeem us.

Let us then be watchful, and strenuous, and constant in prayer, and let us do everything which will please Him, and will gratify His friends, so that we may be redeemed and live. Was not Joseph sold into Egypt, and did he not live in a foreign land? And the three simple young men in Babylon, had they not men who opposed them? Yet, because they were fearing God, He helped them, and made them glorious."

[jmdrake]

Good sermon. Thanks for posting.

Christ Came to Pass Through All the Ranks of the Priesthood


The following is taken from the Saying of the Desert Fathers.

A certain elder who counseled against fornication said the following:

“Be like a man who passes through a street of taverns, and who smells the odor of boiling meats, or the whiff of something which is being roasted; he who wishes enters into one of them and eats, and he who does not wish to do so smells the meats as he passes by and then goes on. Drive away then from yourself the fetid smell of evil thoughts, and stand up and pray, saying, ‘O Son of God, help me.’ The same thing is also to be said about other thoughts, for we are not the roots of the thoughts, but are those who strive against them.”

This same elder spoke the following:

"Now on your account, O son of man, Christ was born, and the Son of God came that He might make you to live.

He became a Child, becoming a man, being also God.

He who was the Lawgiver became a Reader, and He took the book in the synagogue, and He read, saying, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and for this reason He has anointed me, and has sent me to preach the gospel unto the poor.'

Like a Subdeacon He made a whip of rope, and He drove forth from the temple all those who sold oxen, and cattle, and doves, and other things.

Like a Deacon He girded a napkin about His loins, and washed the feet of His disciples, and He commanded them to wash the feet of their brethren.

Like a Priest He sat among the priests, and taught the people.

Like a Bishop He took bread, and blessed and brake it, and gave to His disciples.

He was beaten for your sake, that is to say, for your sake He was crucified, and for your sake He died. Yet you for His sake will not even endure insult!

He rose as God. He was exalted as God. All these things for our sake, all these things by Divine Providence, all these things properly and in due order did He do that He might redeem us.

Let us then be watchful, and strenuous, and constant in prayer, and let us do everything which will please Him, and will gratify His friends, so that we may be redeemed and live. Was not Joseph sold into Egypt, and did he not live in a foreign land? And the three simple young men in Babylon, had they not men who opposed them? Yet, because they were fearing God, He helped them, and made them glorious."

[TER]

Merry Christmas to those celebrating today using the Old Calendar!

Christ is born!
Glorify Him!

[TER]

Merry Christmas!!

[TER]

A Reflection on the Nativity of the Lord (St. Theophan the Recluse)


By St. Theophan the Recluse

Glory to Thee, O Lord! Once again we greet the awaited bright days of Christ’s Nativity. Let us be glad and rejoice. In order to raise our festivities to a higher level in these days, the Holy Church has intentionally instituted a preceding fast—a certain amount of difficulty, so that when we enter the festive period we might feel as though liberated. Nevertheless, the Church in no way desires that we should give ourselves over to purely sensual delights and fleshly pleasures. Since the Church has from olden times called these days sviatki, or the “holy days,” these days require that our very festivity be holy, as they are holy. So that those who rejoice might not forget themselves, the Church has placed a short song upon our lips to glorify the born Christ, by which the flesh is restrained and the soul is uplifted, showing the proper occupations for these days. It says, “Christ is Born, give ye glory,” and the rest. Glorify Christ; glorify Him, so that by this glorification the heart and soul would delight, and thereby silence any urge for various other deeds and occupations that might promise certain consolations. Glorifying Christ does not mean devising lengthy songs of praises to Christ. But if when contemplating or hearing about the birth of Christ the Savior you involuntary shout from the depths of your soul, “Glory to Thee, O Lord, that Christ is born!”—this is sufficient. This will be a quiet song of the heart, which nevertheless reaches the heavens and enters in to God Himself. Repeat a little more clearly to yourself what the Lord has wrought for us, and you will see how natural this exclamation now is. So that this might be easier for us, we shall compare it to the following incident.

A king promised freedom to a man who was imprisoned in a dungeon and bound with fetters. The prisoner waits a day, then another, then months, and years. He sees no fulfillment of the promise, but does not lose hope, and believes in the king’s words. Finally, he sees signs that it is coming soon, his attention increases—he hears a noise; some one is approaching with cheerful words. Now the locks fall and the liberator enters. “Glory to Thee, O Lord!” the prisoner involuntarily cries. “The end of my imprisonment has arrived, and soon I will see God’s world!” Or another incident: A sick man is covered with wounds and paralyzed in all his members. He has tried all medicines and various doctors. His endurance is exhausted, and he is ready to give himself over to despair. He is told, “There is one very skilled doctor who heals everyone from those very illnesses that you have. We have asked him to come, and he has promised to do so.” The patient believes them, cries out in hope, and waits for the promised one…. One hour passes, then another, and his soul is tormented with anxiety. Finally, at evening, someone arrives…. The door opens, and the desired one enters…. “Glory to Thee, O Lord!” the sick man shouts.

Here is another example. A thundercloud hangs over the sky, and the face of the earth covered with darkness. Thunder shakes the foundations of the mountains and lightening tears the sky from one end to the other. All are in fear, as if the end of the world had come. When the thunder passes and the sky clears, everyone breathes freely, saying, “Glory to Thee, O Lord!”

Bring these examples closer to yourself and you will see our whole history in them. The threatening clouds of God’s wrath were over us. The Lord has come—the peacemaker, and has dispersed that cloud. We were covered with wounds of sins and passions; the healer of souls and bodies has come and healed us. We were bound by the fetters of slavery; the liberator has come and released our fetters. Bring all of these examples closer to your heart and take them in with your senses, and you will not be able to refrain from exclaiming, “Glory to Thee, O Lord, that Christ is born!”

I will not try to convey this joy to you in words; it is unreachable by any words. The work that the Lord Who is born has wrought touches every one of us. Those who enter into communion with Him receive from Him freedom, healing, and peace; they possess all of this and taste of its sweetness. There is no reason to say “rejoice” to those who experience this within themselves, for they cannot help but rejoice; but to those who do not experience it, why say “rejoice”? They cannot rejoice. No matter how much you say “rejoice” to one bound hand and foot, he will not rejoice. From whence can the joy of healing come to one who is covered with the wounds of sins? How can one who is threatened by the thunder of God’s wrath breathe freely? You can only say to him, “Go to the Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger, and seek deliverance by Him from all the evils that encompass you, for this Infant, Christ, is the Savior of the world.”

[TER]

Merry Christmas!

[TER]

Homily on the Nativity of Christ

Sermon 28

By St. Leo the Great

I. The Incarnation an Unceasing Source of Joy

Though all the divine utterances exhort us, dearly beloved, to "rejoice in the Lord always" [Philippians 4:4], yet today we are no doubt incited to a full spiritual joy, when the mystery of the Lord's nativity is shining brightly upon us , so that we may have recourse to that unutterable condescension of the Divine Mercy, whereby the Creator of men deigned to become man, and be found ourselves in His nature whom we worship in ours. For God the Son of God, the only-begotten of the eternal and not-begotten Father, remaining eternal "in the form of God," and unchangeably and without time possessing the property of being no way different to the Father He received "the form of a slave" without loss of His own majesty, that He might advance us to His state and not lower Himself to ours. Hence both natures abiding in possession of their own properties such unity is the result of the union that whatever of Godhead is there is inseparable from the manhood: and whatever of manhood, is indivisible from the Godhead.

II. The Virgin's Conception Explained

In celebrating therefore the birthday of our Lord and Savior, dearly beloved, let us entertain pure thoughts of the blessed Virgin's child-bearing, so as to believe that at no moment of time was the power of the Word wanting to the flesh and soul which she conceived, and that the temple of Christ's body did not previously receive its form and soul that its Inhabitant might come and take possession but through Himself and in Himself was the beginning given to the New Man, so that in the one Son of God and Man there might be Godhead without a mother, and Manhood without a Father. For her virginity fecundated by the Holy Spirit at one and the same time brought forth without trace of corruption both the offspring and the Maker of her race. Hence also the same Lord, as the Evangelist relates, asked of the Jews whose son they had learned Christ to be on the authority of the Scriptures, and when they replied that the tradition was He would come of David's seed, "How," says He, "does David in the Spirit call Him Lord, saying, the Lord said to my Lord: sit on My right hand till I place your enemies as the footstool of your feet ?" And the Jews could not solve the question put, because they did not understand that in the one Christ both the stock of David and the Divine nature were there prophesied.

III. In Redeeming Man, Justice as Well as Mercy Had to be Considered

But the majesty of the Son of God in which He is equal with the Father in its garb of a slave's humility feared no diminution, required no augmentation: and the very effect of His mercy which He expended on the restitution of man, He was able to bring about solely by the power of His Godhead; so as to rescue the creature that was made in the image of God from the yoke of his cruel oppressor. But because the devil had not shown himself so violent in his attack on the first man as to bring him over to his side without the consent of His free will, man's voluntary sin and hostile desires had to be destroyed in such wise that the standard of justice should not stand in the way of the gift of Grace. And therefore in the general ruin of the entire human race there was but one remedy in the secret of the Divine plan which could succor the fallen, and that was that one of the sons of Adam should be born free and innocent of original transgression, to prevail for the rest both by His example and His merits. Still further, because this was not permitted by natural generation, and because there could be no offspring from our faulty stock without seed, of which the Scripture says, "Who can make a clean thing conceived of an unclean seed? Is it not You who is alone" [Job 14:4]? David's Lord was made David's Son, and from the fruit of the promised branch sprang One without fault, the twofold nature joining together into one Person, that by one and the same conception and birth might spring our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom was present both true Godhead for the performance of mighty works and true Manhood for the endurance of sufferings.

IV. All Heresies Proceed From Failure to Believe in the Twofold Nature of Christ

The catholic Faith then, dearly beloved, may scorn the errors of the heretics that bark against it, who, deceived by the vanity of worldly wisdom, have forsaken the Gospel of Truth, and being unable to understand the Incarnation of the Word, have constructed for themselves out of the source of enlightenment occasion of blindness. For after investigating almost all false believers' opinions, even those which presume to deny the Holy Spirit, we come to the conclusion that hardly any one has gone astray, unless he has refused to believe the reality of the two natures in Christ under the confession of one Person. For some have ascribed to the Lord only manhood , others only Deity. Some have said that, though there was in Him true Godhead, His flesh was unreal. Others have acknowledged that He took true flesh but say that He had not the nature of God the Father; and by assigning to His Godhead what belonged to His human substance, have made for themselves a greater and a lesser God, although there can be in true Godhead no grades: seeing that whatever is less than God, is not God. Others recognizing that there is no difference between Father and Son, because they could not understand unity of Godhead except in unity of Person, have maintained that the Father is the same as the Son : so that to be born and nursed, to suffer and die, to be buried and rise again, belonged to the same Father who sustained throughout the Person of both Man and the Word. Certain have thought that our Lord Jesus Christ had a body not of our substance but assumed from higher and subtler elements : whereas certain others have considered that in the flesh of Christ there was no human soul, but that the Godhead of the Word Itself fulfilled the part of soul. But their unwise assertion passes into this form that, though they acknowledge the existence of a soul in the Lord, yet they say it was devoid of mind, because the Godhead of Itself was sufficient for all purposes of reason to the Man as well as to the God in Christ. Lastly the same people have dared to assert that a certain portion of the Word was turned into Flesh, so that in the manifold varieties of this one dogma, not only the nature of the flesh and of the soul but also the essence of the Word Itself is dissolved.

V. Nestorianism and Eutychianism are Particularly to be Avoided at the Present Time

There are many other astounding falsehoods also which we must not weary your ears, beloved, with enumerating. But after all these various impieties, which are closely connected by the relationship that exists between one form of blasphemy and another, we call your devout attention to the avoiding of these two errors in particular: one of which, with Nestorius for its author, some time ago attempted to gain ground, but ineffectually; the other, which is equally damnable, has more recently sprung up with Eutyches as its propounder. The former dared to maintain that the blessed Virgin Mary was the mother of Christ's manhood only, so that in her conception and childbearing no union might be believed to have taken place of the Word and the Flesh: because the Son of God did not Himself become Son of Man, but of His mere condescension linked Himself with created man. This can in no way be tolerated by catholic ears, which are so imbued with the gospel of Truth that they know of a surety there is no hope of salvation for mankind unless He were Himself the Son of the Virgin who was His mother's Creator. On the other hand this blasphemous propounder of more recent profanity has confessed the union of the two Natures in Christ, but has maintained that the effect of this very union is that of the two one remained while the substance of the other no longer existed, which of course could not have been brought to an end except by either destruction or separation. But this is so opposed to sound faith that it cannot be entertained without loss of one's Christian name. For if the Incarnation of the Word is the uniting of the Divine and human natures, but by the very fact of their coming together that which was twofold became single, it was only the Godhead that was born of the Virgin's womb, and went through the deceptive appearance of receiving nourishment and bodily growth: and to pass over all the changes of the human state, it was only the Godhead that was crucified, dead, and buried: so that according to those who thus think, there is no reason to hope for the resurrection, and Christ is not "the first-begotten from the dead" [Colossians 1:18]; because He was not One who ought to have been raised again, if He had not been One who could be slain.

VI. The Deity and the Manhood were Present in Christ from the Very First

Keep far from your hearts, dearly beloved, the poisonous lies of the devil's inspirations, and knowing that the eternal Godhead of the Son underwent no growth while with the Father, be wise and consider that to the same nature to which it was said in Adam, "You are earth, and unto earth shall you go" [Genesis 3:19], it is said in Christ, "sit on My right hand. " According to that Nature, whereby Christ is equal to the Father, the Only-begotten was never inferior to the sublimity of the Father; nor was the glory which He had with the Father a temporal possession; for He is on the very right hand of the Father, of which it is said in Exodus, "Your right hand, O Lord, is glorified in power" [Exodus 16:6]; and in Isaiah, "Lord, who has believed our report? And the arm of the Lord, to whom is it revealed" [Isaiah 53:1]; The man, therefore, assumed into the Son of God, was in such wise received into the unity of Christ's Person from His very commencement in the body, that without the Godhead He was not conceived, without the Godhead He was not brought forth, without the Godhead He was not nursed. It was the same Person in the wondrous acts, and in the endurance of insults; through His human weakness crucified, dead and buried: through His Divine power, being raised the third day, He ascended to the heavens, sat down at the right hand of the Father, and in His nature as man received from the Father that which in His nature as God He Himself also gave.

VII. The Fullness of the Godhead is Imparted to the Body (the Church) Through the Head (Christ)

Meditate, dearly beloved on these things with devout hearts, and be always mindful of the apostle's injunction, who admonishes all men, saying, "See lest any one deceive you through philosophy and vain deceit according to the tradition of men, and not according to Christ; for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you have been filled in Him" [Colossians 2:8-10]. He said not "spiritually" but "bodily," that we may understand the substance of flesh to be real, where there is the dwelling in the body of the fullness of the Godhead: wherewith, of course, the whole Church is also filled, which, clinging to the Head, is the body of Christ; who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen.