| * * * |
The time finally came for the promised Saviour of the
world to appear on earth. He was born at night, of the Holy
Virgin Mary, in the city of Bethlehem, in a cave which was
used for sheltering cattle. An angel of the Lord brought the
news to shepherds who were tending their cattle that night in
a field not far from the cave. Together with the divine
messenger there suddenly appeared a host of angels. They
glorified God and sang: “Glory to God on high and peace on
earth, and goodwill among men.” The shepherds rushed to the
cave and knelt before the Infant Christ. |
Two thousand years have passed since that blessed night, in
which the angel announced the great joy that would come to
all people. And in the course of these 2,000 years the Holy
Church, while annually reliving the exultation of that night
in Bethlehem, tells us over and over again of what happened,
and that it was truly a great joy.
But what is the essence of that joy?
|
 |
In the very beginning of mankind’s existence, when Adam and
Eve dwelled in the garden of Eden, they lived in such a state
of bliss that we, in our current sinful condition, cannot
even begin to comprehend. They had the joy of speaking
face-to-face, like children with their father, to God
Himself, Who put aside His inaccessible majesty and appeared
to them very simply, as a Father to His beloved children. But
through the malicious envy of the devil, the first-created
people sinned and lost that bliss, and were expelled from
paradise.
Then the Lord, in His infinite mercy, did not wish to abandon
His beloved creation. In order to save man, who had fallen
away from God, the Lord Himself came down to earth, to become
man and to take on a form in which He would once again be
easily accessible to men.
And so today there lies in the manger in Bethlehem the Divine
God, Who is also man. As God He is inaccessible and
awe-inspiring, and even the angelic host does not dare gaze
upon Him; yet at the same time He is a man like us, similar
to us in all but sin. Therefore, since the One Who lies in
the manger is a man and at the same time the Son of God, -
then we, being His brothers by virtue of His humanity,
through Him have now also become the sons of God.
Therein lies the deep significance of Christ’s incarnation.
The Apostle Paul tells us that God sent His Son down to
earth, in order for Him to redeem us, so that we could once
again become His children. We - all of mankind - were
foresworn sinners, but He came, took our sins upon Himself,
atoned for all of us, and now we once more possess the grace
of being the sons of God.
Thus, mentally standing on this great day at the manger of
Bethlehem, we realize with joy and awe that we are not only
God’s creation, but also His children. And let us remember
with immense gratitude that the Lord has mercifully done such
a wondrous deed, and that instead of punishing man, who was
guilty of sin, He not only took that punishment upon Himself,
but more than that - he affiliated man to God the Father.
Let us love the newborn Infant Christ with all the tenderness
of our soul, as our Saviour and our Redeemer, and let us
bring Him the gift of our pure and loving heart.
Adapted from the sermons of
Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky).
|
 |
* * * Down to earth came the One Who in the beginning had
created us out of dust and had filled us with His divine
spirit; the One Who with a single word caused all visible and
invisible things to appear out of nothing, Whose word brought
into existence all the birds, fish, four-legged animals,
insects, all the creatures who live under His almighty
providence and guardianship; the One Whom the mighty host of
angels serves everlastingly with awe and joy. And with what
humbleness He came! He was born from a poor Maiden, in a
cave, was swaddled with simple cloths and placed in manger! O
wealth, celebrity, fame of this world! - bow down, kneel with
humility, tender tears and deep gratitude to the Saviour of
mankind, share your wealth with the poor and the indigent,
and put aside your pride in your ephemeral and
quickly-passing celebrity: only virtue possesses true
nobility. |
* * *
|
A
CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR THE CHRIST-CHILD
One of the church hymns that is sung for the feast
of the Nativity of Christ contains the following moving
words: “What will we give Thee, O Christ, for having
appeared on earth as a man for our sake? Each of Thy
creations gives Thee thanks: the angels offer their
singing; the heavens give the star; the Magi bring gifts;
the shepherds bear witness to the miracle; the earth
provides the cave; the desert extends the manger. And we –
we give Thee the Virgin Mother.” |
In that very year, almost 2,000 years ago, when the Lord
Jesus Christ was actually born on earth, mankind gave Him
the very best and most precious gift it had – the Pure
Virgin Mary, the only One Who could become the Mother of
God and Who could help Him achieve His incarnation. Since
that time, however, within the Church the Lord continues
to be born for us every year, and every year He comes down
to earth for our salvation. And thus every year, in
gratitude, we must offer Him some gift.
What kind of gift, dear brethren, are we able to give each
year to the newborn Babe, our Saviour? The Lord Himself
provides the answer in the words of the prophet, by
saying: “Give me your heart, my son.” And King David
entreats the Lord in one of his psalms: “Create in me a
pure heart, O God.”
|
The Nativity of Christ |
So how are we to obtain this gift for the Lord – a pure
heart? A pure heart is acquired by ascending a small kind
of ladder. The first step of this ladder is regular church
attendance. In church we cleanse our hearts of the wicked
influence of the outside world and fill them with the
goodness of the word of God.
The second step is the observance of Christmas Lent. But
this observance should not be solely in terms of food. The
main thing is to keep spiritual lent in terms of the
heart, i.e. restrain ourselves from anger, resentment,
quarrels, irritation and other passions – from everything
that darkens our souls. Through spiritual lent we proceed
even further to purify and enlighten our hearts.
The third step is the sacrament of penitence. As we come
to confession and repent of our sins before God, we
discard this heavy and unnecessary burden, and immediately
lighten our hearts.
And then the last and highest step towards acquiring a
pure heart is to partake of the Royal Mysteries. In the
sacrament of communion we draw into ourselves the Lord God
Himself, the Sacred Fire that consumes all of our inner
uncleanliness and gives that purity of heart, toward which
we are striving. Therefore, it is extremely important in
this period of Christmas Lent to come to church and take
communion.
In society we have the custom, whenever we go to someone’s
birthday party, especially a child’s, to bring nice and
valuable gifts. Right now, dear brethren, we are getting
ready to participate in the birthday party of the Heavenly
Child, the Lord God Himself, the One Who created us to
enjoy heavenly bliss, and because of Whom we are able to
celebrate our own birthdays. Let us prepare for Him and
bring to Him, in the sacred night of His Nativity, the
best and most precious gift that we can give – our pure
hearts. Amen.
Father Rostislav Sheniloff |
A GIFT TO THE LORD FOR THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY
“And brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matt. 2:11). It was customary in the East to bring gifts to prominent people. The Queen of Sheba visited Solomon and brought him aromatic oils, much gold, precious stones, etc. That is why the Wise men brought gifts to the Infant Jesus and gave them to His Mother. And in our times, some carry on the tradition of giving presents to each other on the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity. What gift would be the most pleasing to our Lord? Let us look at the treasures the Wise men brought – can we not imitate their example?
Firstly, they brought gold – the most precious metal. But King David says that God’s Word is more precious and more desirable than precious gold. This means that if we study God’s Word and preserve it in our hearts, we have a gift which to the Lord is more precious than gold. This is His gift – Truth; there is nothing more precious than that.
Secondly,they brought frankincense. This is a kind of fragrant incense which by God’s command was used in the Old Testament tabernacle and in the temple. It has a very pleasant fragrance; rising to the heavens like clouds, it serves as a gift of thanksgiving, pleasing to God. If we bring our gift of thanksgiving to God, as the Psalmsinger says, would it not be more pleasing to God than frankincense? Is not our soul, sending the fragrance of thanksgiving to the heavens, worth more than incense?
Finally, the Wise men brought myrrh. Like frankincense, it is obtained from trees growing mostly in Arabia. To obtain it, the tree bark is cut and from it comes an aromatic sap that is used as part of the fragrant oil with which kings and high priests were anointed. The word myrrh means bitterness or sorrow. Could not we, too, bring such gifts to the Lord? Do we not sorrow and feel remorse over our sins? Heartfelt sorrow over our sins – this is our myrrh.
Thus we, too, can bring to our King the same gifts the Wise men brought to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh. We can bring Him God’s truth in our hearts, as King David says: “Your word I hid in my heart.” We can sincerely thank Him for coming down to earth to save us. We can confess before Him our sorrow over our sins, for which He had died. If we do so, then we will be as wise as the magi, and we will bring Him real gifts – true gold, incense, and myrrh.
|
|
|
