Bishop Moses' Nativity Message

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, PEACE, GOODWILL TOWARD MEN!

Once again we hear the consoling words that proclaim our dear Saviour's birth. He Who is above the heavens, bows down to the things of earth. The Word Who was before the ages enters time. He Who is beyond being and completely separate from all creation puts on creaturehood for our sake.

He Who is the Life of all comes to give us life. As it is written in the gospel of Saint John: All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Yet immediately following in that same gospel we read these troubling words: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Our Lord came to shine forth His light and dispel the darkness of error, yet almost 2000 years after that light was manifested in the world, we look about us and see that indeed the darkness comprehended it not.

How many men have not understood and responded to the unique message of our salvation! And how very many today who call themselves Orthodox Christians - and even bishops - commonly say, "What one believes is all the same, as long as one is sincere. There are many roads to God." This amounts to saying that the light of Christ and the darkness of error are one and the same.

Our calling in this age of spiritual darkness and confusion is to respond positively to the light of Christ, to serve as vessels of that light, as bearers of that light in the darkness of confusion. To become vessels of that light, we need to know our faith and live it. We must nurture that light within by faithfully following the teachings of the God-illumined Fathers and Teachers of the Church. And we must struggle to improve ourselves spiritually, and with the help of our spiritual fathers, we must come truly to know ourselves.

In one of his homilies, Saint Makarios the Great explained that a man who receives spiritual gifts must view himself as a naked pauper who has been given resplendent raiment and riches by the King. Such gifts do not belong to the pauper and can be taken back at any time. Like this pauper, we are ourselves merely stewards of the King's riches and must therefore proceed with circumspection and humility as we labor, each and every one of us, to establish the Light of Christ in ourselves, in our families, and in our parishes. Let us cultivate the Light within and make our offering in the spirit of love and self-sacrifice.

Each of us needs to understand that we are not just frequenters of the local church but are called to help establish the light of Orthodoxy in our land. We all have something to offer. In doing so, we will give glory to Him Who, though great, became small - yea to Him Who is rich and became as one poor for our sakes that the Light of Christ might shine forth amid the world's darkness. Amen.