Christmas Message 1999

Christ is in our midst!

In Her Wisdom, our Holy Orthodox Church has given to Christmas a place of honour second only to Pascha. Pascha, pre-eminently, is the Festival of resurrection, redemption and triumph. At Christmas we commemorate and celebrate a mystery and a miracle of another kind, though not less marvelous.

      This miracle of love is called the Incarnation, a word which means "Into flesh." At that first Christmas, two thousand years ago, the eternal Logos, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, became forever one of us. God Himself came to share in our humanity and in all that it means to be a truly human person, excepting of course for sin.

      The highest manifestation of God's love for us is the Cross of Calvary. It was the ultimate place of sacrifice. Yet we would do well to remember that the Manger was also a place of sacrifice. The Lord of Glory gave up His place on the right hand of the Father and became the Babe of Bethlehem. What a wonderful act of sacrifice! And it came about because of the infinite love of Almighty God for sinful men and women.

      At the first Christmas so long ago, all those present, brought their gifts. The Theotokos and St Joseph gave the gift of adoration; the gift of the angel host was praise; the Magi gave gold, frankincense and myrrh. The only gift we can bring to the newly?born Redeemer is our love. He came to us because of His great love for mankind. We can only ascend to Him if we love Him as He loves us, and to the extent that we love our brothers and sisters in Christ for His sake.

      I am well aware that here and there we are undergoing difficult and trying times. I know that many of you are suffering from a great deal of worry and distress. My heart goes out to you in your trials and troubles. I would exhort you to turn your eyes away from all that burdens you. Christ came in the world to bear our burdens, and He is faithful. At this blessed and sacred season of the year we should look always to the Child of Bethlehem. In the midst of troubles and heartaches, the message of the manger is one of eternal love, joy and hope.

With fatherly love and best wishes

Archbishop Makarios of Zimbabwe