Awaiting Christmas
By Archimandrite George Kapsanis
By Archimandrite George Kapsanis
In these days the Orthodox Christian world is called to celebrate or rather to truly live the great event of the salvation and redemption of people and the world from the woes of the wicked and the devil. They are called to receive the mystery of the incarnate economy and to be filled with Divine Grace and Blessing.
The holy Fathers invite us to open the eyes of the heart and contemplate this great mystery, which literally changed the shape of the world.
What is the purpose of the Lord's incarnation? All the teachings of the Fathers about the incarnation of the Lord is contained in the phrase of Athanasios the Great: "The Word became flesh, to make man receptible to divinity." Christ did not come to earth to simply bring us a new teaching, but to transmit to us the Divine Life, the life of God. To make us sharers of Divine Life by grace. God becomes man, so that man may become God by grace. This is the central and essential meaning of this great and important celebration.
Before the birth of the Lord Jesus, the world lived in the darkness of unbelief and idolatry with bright exceptions.
The alienation of people from their Creator had unpleasant consequences in their life. But God did not abandon His creatures. At the right time He sent His only begotten Son to earth to save the world and man. God "did show Himself upon earth, and conversed with men" (Baruch 3:38). The invisible becomes visible, the inaccessible accessible, God is together with men. Great and paradoxical is the mystery.
He came to earth not as He could but so we could see and understand Him. That is why He became man in the flesh in order to better communicate with us. Sacred Chrysostom emphasizes: "How did this amazing and admirable thing happen? Because of His own goodness and just as a king takes off his royal garments and like a simple soldier throws himself into battle, so as not to be recognized by the enemy, so also Christ came in human form, so that the enemy would not be recognized and conflict would be avoided with him, but also not to frighten people, because he came to save and redeem them".
Ultimately, the essential explanation of the Lord's incarnation is the love of God. The Apostle Paul formulates this explanation very clearly, "Because of His great love with which He loved us", "He bent down the heavens and came down." Together with the great Apostle, every believer sees behind the historical and world-saving event of the Lord's birth the great love of God for man and the world. Love that reached even to the Cross.
We are waiting for the great celebration of the Nativity. And the Son of God awaits the response of our own love. He loved us, so let us love Him. To open our hearts and lives to Him. Let's connect with Him. It is surely the greatest gift of the Lord Jesus. Let this Christmas be the beginning of a new life full of God's Grace and Blessing.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
