THE NATIVITY OF JESUS CHRIST
When communicating with our brothers and sisters from other Christian denominations, primarily Catholics and Protestants, it is important to emphasize that we, Orthodox Christians, truly celebrate the Nativity of Christ. After all, there is a widespread belief among them that Orthodox Christians only celebrate Epiphany. Since about half of Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar in their worship, and the other half follow the Gregorian calendar, it turns out that Christmas in Orthodoxy is not only celebrated twice, January 7 and December 25, respectively, but thanks to the Christmas season, that is, the great festive period from Christmas to Epiphany, it lasts for almost four weeks, which is almost equal to Advent.
1 The event of Christ’s Nativity is directly related to the Resurrection of the Lord. For Easter is the completion of Christ’s Work, the victory over death and hell, the sign and pledge of the resurrection of all people. Christmas is the beginning of this “salvific plan for us,” as it is called in the eucharistic prayer of the liturgy of John Chrysostom. It is a salvific plan that God Himself fulfilled.
2 There is another mutual salvific connection between Christmas and Easter. The Lord rose from the dead on the third day. The event of the Resurrection took place in the mystery of the Lord’s Tomb. According to the Gospel, the Lord’s birth also took place in a cave. Christmas and Easter were hidden from the world. For the world was blinded. Like the Cyclops from the Odyssey, it deprived itself of its eyes. “Anoint your eyes with eye salve so that you may see,” says the Apocalypse (Rev. 3:18).
3 God has His own means of communication. Its name is Grace. This means is transmitted through the World and the Church. These are His two beloved creations; they are the work of His Hands. And that is supernatural. As the Church Father Irenaeus of Lyons (122–200) wrote, “The Hands of God are the Son and the Divine Spirit.”
4 Few of those who lived at that time, Mary, Joseph, the Magi, and the shepherds, were granted by God the grace to experience and feel the paradoxical reality of the Messiah’s birth into the world. This reality was clothed in silence, obscurity, lack of glory, and oblivion. “My Prince is the Prince of Silence,” as in the poem by Hungarian poet Endre Ady (1877–1919). In accordance with the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 9:6), the Christmas service calls the Lord “Prince of Peace.”
5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” says the Gospel (John 1:5). The Church Fathers wrote extensively about this “mysticism of light and fire,” which overcomes all darkness and human inability to perceive, but at the same time remains divine darkness itself. These words are difficult to understand. In celebrating the Nativity of Christ, it is extremely important to be imbued with an awareness of the combination of greatness and smallness, the divine and the human, the festive and the everyday in this event. It is no coincidence that, apart from the liturgy, the symbolism of human communication has found no better reflection for the celebration of Christmas than a table laden with food. This is the meal of the Covenant between people and God, or rather, between God and people.
6 In the Bible, and in fundamental contrast to paganism, God always reaches out to man first. God is Infinite Self-Addressing, Self-Revelation, Gift. No matter how many promises God has made, Christ Himself is the answer “yes” to all of them (2 Cor. 1:20). At Christmas, God, without waiting for man’s response, according to the promises of Scripture, became that response Himself.
7 During the Christmas season, it is important to remember the main doxology of the holiday. This is the song of the angels from the Gospel of Luke: “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14). This text became an ancient liturgical hymn of the Church. It is, in essence, one of the first Symbols of Faith. For what is said in it is a confession, a belief, a conviction that what is said must surely come to pass. This key Christmas text has two different transcriptions.
8 First: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will to all people”. This version is accepted in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Its ending is evidence that God’s election and calling is addressed to all. Second: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will. In this reading, peace becomes the possession of those people upon whom God’s goodwill rests. Without delving into philological research, it is important to note that the theological teaching that calling and election are not identical, that is, God calls all but elects few, is a classic legacy of ancient theological thought in the ancient Orthodox Christian West.
9 Such deep and meaningful theology is woven into the very familiar everyday Christmas chanting to encourage to reflect on the wealth of meaning that surrounds the people of God, as believing Christians, in this world. God has not left his Church and his World alone. He constantly teaches, helps, surrounds with care, and leads to salvation in ways that are sometimes obvious but always mysterious. In the words of the greatest of the ancient Church Fathers, St. Augustine (354–430), the totality of God’s almighty ways to human salvation is called the mystery of divine predestination.
10 “Trust God, believe in God, follow God” is a threefold formula first formulated by St. Augustine. It reflects the essence of biblical religiosity. It is very important that none of its components be omitted from the Christian perception of faith. Faith exists as trust, faith is conviction in the rightness of something, faith lives as an engagement to follow. This third part is especially characteristic of our postmodern era. Unfortunately, the first two are often consciously rejected or simply avoided. It is important to remember that Christian conviction and the Faith of the Church say that in the fidelity of this triad of “hypostases of faith” lies true happiness and blessing for each and every one. For it is not only a choice, but a great gift to be the People of God and the People of Christmas.