Homily Four on the Sunday Before the Nativity of Christ (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

Homily Four on the Sunday Before the Nativity of Christ

By St. John of Kronstadt

"And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus: 

for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21)

Beloved brethren, the world-saving feast of the Nativity of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh approaches. The Holy Church has already been pre-celebrating this wondrous mystery for several days — in Her daily services and in spiritual hymns. In them, the Church reminds us of our birth from God, of the loss of our adoption as sons through sin, of its return through repentance, of our mutual spiritual kinship, and of the spirit of love and mutual assistance. But, lest we celebrate this great feast of God's boundless love for us and His extreme condescension in a purely carnal manner, but rather spiritually, let us discuss for a moment why God became man, remaining God, and what does God's incarnation require of us? 

The Genealogy of Christ (Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos)

The Genealogy of Christ

Matt. 1:1–17; Luke 3:23–38

By Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos

Observations

Comparing the genealogies of the two Evangelists, Matthew and Luke, we find the following differences:

1) Extent of the genealogy

Matthew traces Christ’s genealogy back to Abraham, whereas Luke goes back to Adam.

This is because Matthew, addressing the Jews, wishes to prove that Christ is the expected Messiah, descended from Abraham and David according to the prophets.

Luke, however, addressing all humanity, traces Christ back to Adam in order to present Him as the Redeemer of the entire human race, which descends from Adam.

Homily on the Sunday Before the Nativity of Christ (Theophanes Kerameus)

Homily on the Sunday Before the Nativity of Christ

"On the Book of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David"

Homily 14

By Theophanes Kerameus (+ 1152)

"A star has now arisen from the tribe of Judah; and when the kings perceived it, they set out from the East and hasten to arrive, that they might behold Christ, born in the flesh in Bethlehem." (Ode 3, Matins for the Forefeast of Christmas)

Just as when the sun rises and appears on the horizon the lights of the stars are overshadowed, unable to endure such brilliance, so too when the Sun of Righteousness rises from the womb of the Virgin, the choir of the Fathers appears to shine forth beforehand, like a choir of stars. For this reason the sacred Matthew, whose Gospel we begin to read today, seems to have gathered them together as if within a sheltered harbor. Come, then, let us examine together the purpose of this genealogy. First among the Evangelists, eight years after the Ascension of Christ, Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew, in a God-inspired manner, addressing the Jews who had converted to Christ.

Holy Martyr Juliana in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint Juliana, according to Saint Joseph the Hymnographer, constitutes a magnet — one that magnetized her very Lord and God. Such were her virtues, and so many, because of the Lord’s heart wounded by love for her, that He loved her for the beauty of her soul and led her into the bridal chamber of His Kingdom. Thus, for the Hymnographer, Saint Juliana belongs to the company of the five virgins of the well-known parable, who “went in with Him to the wedding.” Her virginity was not barren and fruitless, but full of the oil of the grace of God. “You were wounded by the sweetest eros of Christ, O all-praised one,” and “therefore the Lord now loved your beauty and led you into His most radiant bridal chamber.” That is, Saint Juliana understood from a very young age that Christ — if one wishes to feel His power and grace — is not the margin of life, but its center and constant point of reference. Just as He offered us His whole Self, in the same way He asks for our own total offering. “You offered your whole self to God,” notes the Hymnographer.

SAINT THEMISTOCLES, who boldly confessed Christ and was martyred for Him, a simple shepherd of sheep, honored in Nafpaktos with a splendid church bearing his name

By Aristeides G. Theodoropoulos

Within the numerous cloud of glorious and noble martyrs, who sacrificed themselves voluntarily for the love of Jesus Christ and who all together are encompassed in the ineffable beauty of Paradise in Heaven, a glorious martyr of the 3rd century AD from Myra in Lycia, Asia Minor, holds a prominent place. The is the reason for the holy and glorious martyr Themistocles, honored by our Orthodox Church on December 21, is praised as a glorious and invincible athlete of the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. His livelihood was as a shepherd, but accepting the teachings of our unblemished Christian faith from his pious parents, he experienced the eternal truths of the Gospel of Christ and later emerged as a fervent confessor of faith in the one and true God.

However, in the era in which Saint Themistocles lived, this courageous confessor and glorious martyr of our faith, the Roman emperor Decius, who held power between the years 249-251 AD, had launched a harsh persecution against Christians, in order to eliminate the Christian faith and impose the religion of idols. That is why he sent a royal decree to the ruler of Lycia, Asklepios, which stipulated that all Christians should be arrested.

December: Day 21: Teaching 2: Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow

December: Day 21: Teaching 2:
Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow
 
(On the Sin of Slander Against the Church's Shepherds)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, whose memory is celebrated today, was born of pious parents who lived in the Volyn region in the second half of the 12th century. He diligently began to study literacy and the law of God, but was unsuccessful. One day, he saw an elder in a dream who touched his tongue, after which his abilities were revealed. At the age of twelve, Peter entered a monastery. He combined his devotion to prayer and fasting with iconography. Thus, his abilities were occupied with sacred subjects, leaving no room in his soul for secular and sinful matters. Concerned for the welfare of the Church and the Fatherland, Saint Peter, consecrated as Metropolitan and settling not in Kiev but in Vladimir on the Klyazma River due to Tatar raids, served as a peacemaker for the princes and an intercessor before the Tatar khans.

Prologue in Sermons: December 21

 

A Monk Must Completely Renounce the World

December 21
 
(The Story of the Monk who came to Anthony to be tonsured and kept his property for himself.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

In our opinion, a monk must be a completely disinterested person. Once you've renounced the world and dedicated yourself to God, then live with God and in God; otherwise, the matter is lost. For you yourselves know that one cannot serve two masters, nor can one simultaneously serve God and mammon. Monks are like warriors set to battle. A warrior is vigorous, watches the enemy, and emerges victorious; but if he throws down his weapon, becomes absent-minded, loses his caution, becomes engrossed in extraneous matters, then lo and behold, he's lost. So it is with a monk. He stands vigilantly against the enemy, the devil, not being carried away by attachment to worldly goods — thus, the enemy of humanity dare not approach him, and the work of salvation proceeds well.

Conversation of Father John of Kronstadt With the Shepherds (June 21, 1904 in Sarapul)

Bishop Andrew of Ufa with St. John of Kronstadt

They write from Sarapul:

“The venerable Fr. John Sergeev of Kronstadt, accompanied by His Grace Mikhei, vicar bishop of Sarapul, arrived in Sarapul on Sunday, June 20, and was met at the pier by an enormous crowd of people who had come from many villages and factories, by the clergy (up to 40 persons), representatives of the local municipal and zemstvo self-governments, and other institutions. After disembarking at the pier, the highly respected pastor, accompanied by His Grace Mikhei and a vast multitude of people, proceeded to the cathedral, where he celebrated the Divine Liturgy together with Bishop Mikhei, with the concelebration of 24 local priests and priests invited from the district.

It goes without saying that the small old cathedral was far from able to contain the entire mass of people who wished to be present in the church where the most beloved and most popular clergyman in our vast Mother Russia was praying. The majority of the worshippers crowded the square adjoining the cathedral, waiting for the exit and blessing of Fr. John of Kronstadt, the dearly beloved 'batiushka' to all.

During the divine service Fr. John delivered two sermons, and in the second he touched upon the military events in the Far East. While he was in the cathedral, several telegrams were handed to him through his cell-attendants. These telegrams were evidently petitions for the granting of health and healing. After reading the telegrams, the venerable batiushka reverently lifted his eyes to heaven; his lips were whispering, and his hands holding the telegrams were laid upon the altar. The moment was deeply moving: hearts were softened, tears welled up in the eyes. One sensed a special solemnity and the communion of the great intercessor for the Russian people with the Giver of blessings, the Lord God, taking place in the modest Russian church of a remote provincial town, amid a vast, but for the most part simple and unlearned crowd.

After the conclusion of the service, Fr. John departed from the church through the side doors to the chambers of His Grace Mikhei, his personal friend, of which the people in the church were informed. As is known, His Grace Mikhei had formerly served in the navy, holding the rank of captain of the second rank, had lived for a long time in Kronstadt, and owed his transition to his present ministry entirely to the influence of Fr. John.

On Monday, the 21st, the distinguished guest served the Liturgy in the church of the men’s monastery; on the following day, the 22nd, in the women’s monastery; and on the 23rd he departed on the same steamship.”

Supplement to the Vyatka Provincial Gazette (1904).

Conversation of Father John of Kronstadt With the Shepherds 

(June 21, 1904 in Sarapul)

By Bishop Andrew of Ufa (Ukhtomsky)

God granted me to be a witness and a participant in a wondrous conversation which our great shepherd and man of prayer, Father John of Kronstadt, held with other shepherds of the Church of Christ. This took place on June 21, 1904, in the city of Sarapul, where batiushka had arrived at the invitation of His Grace, the Bishop of Sarapul, Mikhei. The local clergy from the surrounding area gathered in the hall of the local Theological School in expectation of the invited batiushka. When he appeared in the doorway of the hall, all those present greeted the dear guest with the singing: “Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together…” Batiushka first went into the school chapel, venerated the holy altar, and then returned to the hall and invited everyone to sit around the table. Thus began his wondrous conversation with those assembled.

Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

We will not dwell on the truly God-inspired poetic conceptions of the great hymnographer of our Church, Saint Andrew of Crete, concerning Saint Ignatius the God-bearer. That is, we will not insist on the connection he attempts to make between Christmas and the feast of the Saint (“The light-bearing day of your radiant contests proclaims to all Him who was born of the Virgin; for thirsting out of longing to delight exceedingly in Him, you hastened to be consumed by wild beasts”), nor on the parallel he draws between him and the Patriarch Abraham, wishing to emphasize the magnitude of his sacrifice and once again finding occasion to refer to the event of Christ’s Nativity (“Abraham once sacrificed his son, prefiguring the slaughter of Him who holds all things and who now hastens to be born in a cave; but you, O God-minded one, offered your whole self as a sacrifice to your Creator”). Nor yet will we refer to his remarkable inspiration of an abstract kind, seeing on the one hand the jaws of the lions as the Saint’s executioners, and on the other their entrails and stomachs as his tomb: “Let the teeth of the beasts, he says, become for me swords and rhomphaia and slaughter; and let the entrails of the lions be my tomb.”