Dear in Christ Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the great feast of the Nativity of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ!

During the Divine Liturgy we heard the Epistle reading which succinctly and beautifully sums up the events of today’s feastday and its outcomes for mankind. The Holy Apostle Paul writes that God sent His Only-Begotten Son to be born from the Most-Holy Theotokos, to become a real person and to be subject to the Jewish Law. In such a way, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, saved us from death and made us not slaves, but children of God. Through the Mystery of baptism, as well as through repentance and the Eucharist, the All-Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us and gives us the boldness to turn towards God as our Father. Since He is our Father, and we His children, it means we are heirs to the Heavenly Kingdom!

As a loving parent, God is ready to do everything for the sake of His adopted children, even to send His Only-Begotten Son to willingly suffer. So that we could ascend to the heights of heaven, the Son descends to earth. To free us from sin, He is bundled in swaddling cloth. Wishing that we give less thought to earthly matters and that we lift our gaze towards Him, He is born in a cave under the earth. Wishing that we be nourished by the Word of God and prayer, he is fed by the milk of the Virgin. Today, God is humbled to the extreme so that man might be exulted in spirit.

Seeing the profound parental love of our Creator towards us, let us burn with love for Him, as a child loves his or her parents. Let’s bring Him song like once upon a time did the angels, a pure and blameless life like the shepherds, humility like Joseph, obedience like the Virgin Mary, and spiritual gifts like the wise men. Having done this, let’s become worthy heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom.

priest Alexis