The Nativity of our Lord God and  Saviour Jesus Christ  25 December /  7 January

The Nativity of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ

Tropar of the Nativity (Tone 4): Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath shined upon the world the light of knowledge; for thereby, they that worshipped the stars were taught by a star to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee, the Dayspring from on high. O Lord, glory be to Thee.

Kontakion of the Nativity (Tone 3): Today the Virgin giveth birth to Him Who is transcendent in essence; and the earth offereth a cave to Him Who is unapproachable.  Angels with shepherds give glory; with a star the Magi do journey; for our sake a young Child is born, Who is pre-eternal God.

Gospel: Matt. 2:1-12

1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.’ 3 When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had” gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 and they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they heard the king, they departed: and 10, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

BUT WHEN THE FULLNESS OF THE TIME WAS COME, GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON

And so, my brothers, the feast of the Nativity of Christ reminds us that we are born of God, that we are sons of God (I John 3:1), that we have been saved from sin (Matt. 1:21) and that we must live for God and not sin; not for flesh and blood, not for the world which lies in evil (I John 5: 19). What does the Incarnation of the Son of God require of us? It requires of us to remember and hold in sacred honour the fact that we are born of God; and if we have sullied and trampled upon this birthright with our sins, we must restore it by washing it with tears of repentance; we must restore and renew within us the image of God which has fallen and the union with God and blessedness, truth and holiness which has been destroyed.’Now God became man, that He may make Adam a god’ (Stichera for lauds of Annunciation).

St. John of Kronstadt,. My Life in Christ. B#61.

There is no need to fear that God should seem to suffer constraint in the tiny body of a child: for God is not in size, but in moral power …That moral power, without changing for the worse, took to itself the rational soul, and through that the human body, and the whole man, to change it for the better; in condescension taking from it the name of humanity, in generosity bestowing on it the name of divinity.

St. Augustine of Hippo. Letters, 137.8. B#15, p.216.

VISIT OF THE MAGI

What do the wise men learn from the star? …That He was King of the Jews? And yet He was not king of this kingdom, even as He also said to Pilate, ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ …And even if they knew Him to be a king, for what intent did they come? …What had astrology to do with Him? …What reason induced them to worship one who was king so far off …not yet grown to manhood? Why do they set forth on so long a journey and offer gifts and this when dangers were sure to beset their whole proceedings? …God called them by the things that are familiar …and He shows a large and extraordinary star, so as to astonish them …Yet for all that, God, for the salvation of those who are in error, endured to be served by these things whereby those without were used to serve devils (astrology); only He slightly altered them; that He might draw them off by degrees from their customs, and lead them towards the higher wisdom.

St. John Chrysostom. Homily VI on Matthew 2, 1,4. B#54,pp. 36,37,