Preaching in the Orthodox Church: Lectures and Sermons by a Priest of the Holy Orthodox Church
Spiritual Reflections from the Priest's Desk
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This
message is sincerely sent to give you a deeper insight on the "Mystery
of Christmas" and what the "Incarnation," i.e., the union
of Divinity with humanity in Christ, should carry in our minds and in our
hearts.
Curiosity is a sign of good mental health - I mean, the proper type of curiosity
of course-that which seeks to discover more in order the better to love
and serve a worthy cause. We all appreciate meeting, or leastwise seeing
even though from a distance, any individual who has accomplished a heroic
feat of some kind or other. The case of astronauts such as Gagarin or Schirra
is a point in fact. We were all anxious to hear about the details of the
Mercury capsule; we were all eyes and ears during the first launching of
a manned spacecraft from Cape Canaveral; we followed intently the first
orbital flight and the recovery operations as relayed by television. A complex
communications system had been set up to keep us informed on all phases
of the project. We were even introduced into the living room of the astronaut's
home to share personally the hope and tension of the cosmonaut's wife and
children. We just had to know all about this history-making event, because
we felt that man in space meant man taking possession of another bit of
this vast universe.
But are we now completely satisfied with what we've learned of outer-space?
Have all the wonderful discoveries of modern science set our minds at rest?
Let's be frank; we are still looking ahead, searching for new frontiers,
ever anxious to learn more and more about the world around us. Our curiosity
will never be fully satisfied. In fact, in spite of our fantastic progress
in all fields of scientific achievement, in spite of the tremendous amount
of human knowledge accumulated over the centuries, we are still seeking
God; we want to possess Him; we remain intent on grasping the implications
of the spiritual in our lives and would like fully to grasp the intentions
of the Almighty regarding our salvation. To be sure, "no one has ever
seen God."
According to certain "down-toearth thinkers" who claim to be "realists,"
this is precisely where the difficulty lies, because they fail to realize
that the unique Son of God was made flesh precisely to acquaint us with
the heavenly Father. Christ is the on-the-spot camera that has picked up
the picture of the Father for us. He is the One Who has revealed Him to
us. And the sequences of God's intimate life of love for us and of God's
mysteries have been recorded by Christ to be re-telecast by the world-wide
network of the Church. God's picture is therefore continually beamed to
all corners of the world for all men to see in the portrayal done by Christ.
The Church is there ever alert to make sure the picture comes out clear
and sharp.
We would be mistaken in believing that Christmas is but the anniversary
of an event long past. The truth of the matter is that the Advent of Jesus
is spiritually re-enacted every year, through the shedding of His grace.
Hence we are quite right in claiming that on Christmas Eve Christ truly
comes anew to visit the earth and again lifts men up to the dignity of being
and becoming the sons of God. However, it is no longer into the stable of
Bethlehem that He descends, but in the souls of all of us. Our hearts then
become like so many living mangers that must be carefully prepared for His
coming.
How will you greet the Christ-Child? The way the Jews did? Yes, history
repeats itself. Even among the Christians-members of the select lineage
of Christ-there are still many who are so fully engrossed in mundane pursuits,
that they no longer take pains to reserve a nook in their hearts wherein
to welcome the Divine Guest. And like the Jews, they reject the grace offered
to them seeking after the world and its gifts.
By the time you read this message, the high-pressure advertising campaign
which in late years has been timed to promote Christmas sales will probably
have induced you to purchase a number of gifts you intend to send your friends
for the holidays. Now, mind you, I do not in the least mean to write against
gift-giving on the occasion of Christmas. However, what I am driving at
is this: Commendable though may be the custom of presenting gifts at Christmas,
it will easily degenerate into a camouflaged commercialism based on the
principle of profit from exchange, unless it is subservient to the true
spirit of Christmas. There is no sense in offering a friend or a relative
a gift at Christmas, if we are not in a position to simultaneously Give
Christ to him. To Give Christ does not require a purse, well garnished with
savings, for you cannot buy Him at the novelty shop and have Him packed
in a bright, crisp wrapper. Christ does not sell that way. We must possess
Him beforehand in our hearts and in our minds and then our actions of love
will follow accordingly.
How will you greet the Christ-Child? The way the beast of the stable did.
Those who consider Christmas merely as a wonderful opportunity to make merry
and to revel are likened to the beast of the stable to which the coming
of the Child meant an orgy, because for days on end the beast of the stable
feasted on the peels of the fruits brought to the stable; but the beast's
satisfaction never exceeded the level of its stomach, and the beast never
suspected the marvel that had just occurred.
"Let us go over to Bethlehem" by an actual visit to the crib .
. . Our Church. . . not merely as a reminder of a blessed event that took
place twenty centuries past, but also as a hallowed spot where we can benefit
by an increase of grace in our souls on the condition of humbling ourselves
and accepting on faith the mystery of the Incarnation. "Unless you
become like little children" and kneel in anticipation at the "Crib"
much of the spirit of Christmas will escape your grasp, and much of its
entrancing mystical sense will remain as a mere nothing to you. Here, wrapped,
in swaddling clothes, is a Divine Person embodied in human flesh sent to
reunite us with God and to restore us to eternal life.
"Let us go over to Bethlehem," the Sacramental-Bethlehem where
the Christ-Child awaits our visit. The shepherds forsook their flock, the
Magi left behind the security of their homeland and the angels flew down
from Heaven to go to Bethlehem. And all we have to do is to go slightly
out of our way to pay an occasional visit to Christ in the Sacrament. What
is more, Him Whom they came only to see, we can have and hold in Holy Communion!
Yes, have, give and keep Christ in and with Christmas. . . making sure you
possess Him beforehand.
From Word
Magazine
Publication of the Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Archdiocese of North America
December 1964
pp. 4, 9
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