Through the
Old Testament’s prophesies, the Lord Almighty prepared mankind to receive the
Messiah, Who would be God Incarnated. He would had dwelt and lived amongst men.
God promises Moses, that He will built His tent amongst the people of Israel,
and that He will be their God and they will be His people (Lev. 26:11, 12). The
prophet Isaiah, more than any other prophet, foretold that God will take up
human flesh and, as the God-Man, will live amongst men. Even the name
‘Emmanuel’, which was given by the Angel means: God is with us.
Man cannot
know how God became man. Man’s mind cannot understand the depth of this “great
mystery”, in other words, how God was incarnated as a perfect man and
simultaneously His human nature had received the fullness of the Deity within
it, without the two Natures being confused or mingle or mixed.
God the Word
took up all the human nature, but without sin. The human nature is receiving
all the Hypostasis of God the Son and Word and at the same time the Son remains
inseparable from the Father and the Holy Spirit, filling all Creation with His
Divine presence. He is presence not in partial, but as the whole God in all
Creation and in all parts of the Creation. To this All-presence of the Word of
God the term “Emmanuel” is expressed, which means God is with us.
The presence
and dwelling of God amongst men is the presence of salvation and the source of
God’s Gifts and Charismata. The presence of God the Word in man’s history was
an offering of redemption, which man so desired and could not find on his own.
God the Word with His Incarnation brought the Heavenly Kingdom of God to men
and is extended in eternity. God had to come in a physical manner to enlighten
man’s mind through His Teachings. With the sanctification of the human nature,
Christ could free it from the bondage of the sinful passions. Man’s mind and
heart would have been cleansed from the stain of sin and he would become free
from the tyranny of guilt and death itself.
With the
Incarnation of the Word man’s relationship with God the Father has been
restored and men are worthy to become, through Grace, ‘sons of God’. The
Incarnation of the Word of God opened Paradise
and ended the authority of Satan. For the Nativity in Bethlehem of Judaea had
to take place, in order that the Sacrifice on Golgotha
be realized.
Mankind, after
the Fall of the first-created, was enslaved completely to sinful passions.
Men’s hearts were turned to evil from their youth. Human nature was so much
disfigured and corrupted, that God had decided that His Spirit will not rest
amongst men, because of their sinfulness. With the Sacrifice, which was offered
by Christ, all those who believe in His name, are no longer slaves, but His
friends and co-heirs in His Heavenly Kingdom.
The presence
of the Lord within the Orthodox Church is eternal. Emmanuel, the Son of God,
the Son of the Ever-Virgin Mary, is within and remains within the Church and
grants to all Orthodox faithful salvation till the ends of time.
How many times
did not our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ called the men of His time and still
continues calling all men to accept His Teachings? The Feast Day of Christ’s
Nativity has approached. How many of us have prepared accordingly to receive
Christ within our hearts?
We all have
been busy with the cleaning of our homes! We all ran to make our Christmas
shopping’s, to prepare Christmas sweets, to buy new clothes and festival gifts!
In all these, how many of us have prepared the inner part of our souls to
receive the Heavenly Infant of Bethlehem? How many of us have turned our
thoughts towards our brothers and sisters who truly have the need of our
support? How many have forgiven those who trespassed against them? How many of
us ran and participated in the Holy Sacrament of Confession and cleansed their
souls from their daily sins?
But, my
beloved brethren, how many families also cry and suffer during these holy days,
because many gamble? Men, who worked throughout the year, in few moments gamble
and find themselves penniless, unable to buy even the basic food for their
homes? And, for all these problems the reasons rely in the passion of wanting
to win more and more money. Greed blinds their thoughts and enslaves their
hearts, with the hope of a quick way of becoming rich. How great pain we cause
to the Infant Christ during these days. When instead of going to the Church, we
prefer to stay at home or at the casino?
Christ is born
in the hearts of men, when we open our hearts to Him and invite Him with true
faith and love. Christ is born and man is reborn.
Beloved, on
the occasion of the coming great feast of the Incarnation of the Son and Word
of God, let us decorate our souls with true faith and good deeds, in order that
Emmanuel will dwell within our personal life and we become the living temples of
His love. Amen.
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