The Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

The Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

By Raphael Masterjohn (of blessed memory +2018)

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will among men!”

Let us joyously celebrate this great and holy season, for “unto us a Child is born,” and that Child is the eternal God Logos Himself, born as a New Child of the pure and Ever-Virgin Theotokos Mary.

In becoming incarnate as a man, the God Logos assumed our nature, becoming a human being, in every way like ourselves but without sin. Though he is eternal God, he became a man, subjecting Himself to all the infirmities of man, ready to suffer pain and sorrow, crucifixion and death on the Cross. In the Incarnation, we see the natural laws set aside, and we bare our heads and bow down before the awesome power, authority and humility of God, who came down to earth and, according to the laws of gestation and birth, united Himself essentially to the sinful human race.

“And the Logos Became Flesh…”

That the Logos of God became a man is a historical fact, for by His words and His works He verified that God was manifested in the flesh” (ITim.3:16).  “And the Logos became flesh,” says St. John, “and dwelled among us full of grace and truth” (Jn1:14).

But why did the Logos dwell among us?

What was the purpose of His becoming a partaker of our essence and nature?

Regarding this, the Orthodox Church chants:

“God became man in order that He might render Adam a god”; and also “in order that by partaking of what is worse, the Logos might impart to man of what is better.”

So our Lord Jesus Christ became the Son of man in order that He might make man a son of God, that He might deify man.  He assumed what is worse, the lesser human nature of us human beings, in order to impart to us what is better and superior, the Divine Nature.  

There are two sonships predicated of the God Logos, the first being natural and eternal, the second being time-limited and temporal and human. In the first case, he is the Son of God, and in the second case, He became also the Son of the Virgin, yet remaining one Person, the very Logos of God.

As two sonships are predicable of the Son of God, so two sonships are predicable of those who believe in the divine word and who, through faith, come into communion with God. We human beings are first born of flesh from a woman, being children of a desire of the flesh, and we are, secondly, born of God, children of God’s will.

According to the law of birth, we necessarily partake of the essence and nature of our parents, and since we are born of God, we necessarily partake of the nature of God.  This is witnessed by St. Peter the Apostle who says:

“As His divine power has given unto us all things that pertain to life and piety, through full knowledge of Him who has called us by glory and virtue: whereby are given to us precious and exceedingly great promises, in order that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through desire,” (IIPet.1:3-4)

It was in order that we be perfected spiritually that the Logos became a man. But this is true only of those who become partakers of the Divine Nature by believing in Christ, and obeying His commandments. In the fertile souls of true believers, the words of Christ are sown and grow, blossoming and producing the fruit of virtue.

Impregnated by the words of Christ, the soul, by work, struggle, pain and tribulation, brings forth virtues:  Faith, Hope and Love in relation to the true God; humility, meekness and holiness in regard to the inner man; justice, kindness and honesty with respect to all men; and bravery, prudence and hatred of vice with respect to the Evil One, the devil.  When these virtues mature in the soul, the opposing vices are eradicated.  

The conception, blossoming and fruition of the divine word is effected in our souls through the indwelling Holy Spirit.  It is with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit and our own volition and faith that the divine word is conceived, grows and blossoms in our soul, producing spiritual fruit.  Through this cooperation of God and Man, this synergy, a man becomes the likeness of God and a son of God.  

In exchange for the body which the Logos received from us, he gives us His Word. And in exchange for the nature of the human soul which he received from us, He gives us the Holy Spirit, making us partakers of the Divine Nature, raising us up to the order of children of God.  Indeed, God imparts to our souls the living Spirit of divine regeneration and adoption as sons and daughters. “Whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Rom.8:15).

The Christmas season, when we celebrate the Holy Nativity of the Son and Logos of God, can only be continually joyous when we actively become a part of the same dignity as the Holy and All-pure Virgin Mary.  The humble Virgin accepted the Word of God as given to her by the Angel Gabriel and became impregnated by the will of the Father and the action of the Holy Spirit, having within her womb the Divine Logos.  After a period of time, according to the natural law, the All-Pure one gave birth to the Logos, bringing joy and salvation to the world.   

Each and every faithful and Orthodox Christian who, during this season, accepts the teaching of Jesus Christ into his soul, repenting of former sins and impregnated by the divine words, will give birth to Christ, not in the flesh, but through the new and Christ-like person both in words and in deeds. Let us pay close attention to this. During the present season, we experience some joy in celebrating the Divine Nativity, usually called Christmas in this country, but the joy will soon leave us unless we too experience the Incarnation in our souls.  

As previously stated, we must listen to the words of Christ and take  them very seriously, repenting and confessing our sins to His priest in order to receive forgiveness by the authority  given him by Christ. We must then forsake all sinful words and deeds.  Then the Holy Spirit, seeing our desires of the good, impregnates us with the divine words.  If we remain faithful and true, if we keep the commandments of our Lord, if we forsake the enticements of the Evil One, then the divine words will germinate in our souls and we will “bring forth fruit a hundred-fold.”  Our Lord Himself promised that ”whoever believes in my words, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”  

What a joyous season it will be for all who accept the words of Jesus in their totality, that they may germinate in such souls, bringing them to eternal life, and contributing  to the salvation of countless others!  For this reason, the Son of God became also the Son of Man, in order to refashion us, to impart His nature to us, to make us holy, and to bring us to eternal bliss in His glorious Kingdom, where there will be no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but life everlasting.  To Him be glory forever!

Christ is born!  Glorify Him!  Come out to meet Him!

“A great and marvelous wonder has happened today:

The Virgin bears a child

And her womb suffers no corruption.

The Logos has become flesh

Yet does not cease to dwell with the Father.

Angels with shepherds give glory,

And with them we cry aloud:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.”