On the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Whenever a warm spring shines after a cold winter, then the earth grows green grass, and the tree stems are decorated with flowers, and the air shines with the sun, and all the birds, flying through the air, chirp melodiously. Then the shepherds and shepherds living in the mountains, crawling out of their huts, their faces are transformed by the beauty of the air, and, in response to the ringing chirping of songbirds, playing the flutes and pleasing the feelings of their foolish sheep, they quietly drive them to pasture. Then the farmer, having sharpened his knife with a stone, goes to the vineyard to cut off the fruitless shoots of the vine. Then the seaside swimmers, seeing the stormless sea, leaving the land, entrusting their souls to wood, water and wind, fearlessly fly along the sea ridge. And, in a word, so that I do not prolong my attack in words, every art and every craft created by people for everyday needs is carried out without hindrance as soon as the quiet air shines. Since the heavenly spring, Christ, from the virgin womb, shone for us, and dispelled the cold and stormy darkness of the devil, awakened the sleepy hearts of people from the darkness of ignorance with His divine rays, let us direct our minds to heavenly and blissful glory. But the birth of Christ, shining with divinity, stops the flow of my tongue, and binds the tongue itself. When I imagine a baby born of a Virgin, and a Virgin without a husband and remaining a virgin at birth, when I am too curious about this matter, then, not finding a way, I seal the matter with faith. How, truly, is it not marvelous and beyond all thought that a virgin gave birth, and was found a virgin by birth? That she gave birth was evidenced by the child who was born; that, after conception, she remained a virgin, the nature inherent in her body taught. Look at the mystery, which is visible and invisible, possessed and not mastered, tangible and not acquired! Who has not seen and held both the Child and the Mother? But who, seeing the virgin Mother and the Child of the Virgin's son, explores this mystery out of curiosity? Oh, truly, this is a heavenly and earthly secret, which can and cannot be mastered, visible and not revealed. Such was the Christ born today: heavenly and earthly, Who can and cannot be mastered, visible and invisible. He is heavenly in the nature of deity, earthly in His humanity, visible in the body, invisible in the spirit. He can be mastered by the body, but cannot be mastered by the Word. But Christ, being God almighty, begotten according to His will, appeared to His world; However, the birth from the Virgin strikes my mind even more because the Virgin conceived in her womb, not coming from heaven, but coming from the seed of David, consisting not of spirit, but of body and soul; the pregnancy of the womb was exposed by deed, and the conception was seedless. He dwells in heaven, and was mysteriously completed as a child in a virgin womb. By nature He was born, but the recipients, touching both the giving birth and the baby, did not find incorruption, as with other women. The one coming through her was God. Oh, the bush that Moses saw on the scorched and unburnt mountain! Oh, Virgin Mary, who gives birth and remains incorruptible! O stone which Daniel saw cut out of the mountain, besides the hands of men! O virgin mother of the virgin child and sacred child of the celibate life! Where are the too inquisitive? Let them tell us how the Virgin gave birth to a child without a husband and, having given birth, did not undergo incorruption? If this image is inexplicable, since birth is from the Spirit, then much less is the ineffable birth of the Word from the Father explored. But you believe, you acknowledge that, having given birth, she did not undergo incorruption; and you accuse God with the words: “If the incorruptible Father, having given birth to His Son, was subjected to corruption - (this is due to your madness!) - then how much more would the Virgin, being of a corruptible nature, having given birth, be subjected to corruption.” If you yourself testify that the Virgin, having given birth, did not undergo incorruption, believe all the more that the incorruptible Father, having given birth to the incorruptible Son, did not undergo incorruption. But, leaving the idle talkers, let us return rather to the theologians - preachers. “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod” (“Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king”) (Matthew 2:1). The evangelist necessarily designates the place and time, so that those who do not believe in the birth of the Savior according to the flesh, having examined the place and time, would find the truth. He determines the time by the authority of Herod, from chronographs, the place - the designation of Bethlehem. If in secular treaties, for the sake of accuracy, consuls are written, and the months are counted, and the days are designated, and the cities are marked, - all the more was the accuracy of the place and time needed in the designation for the subsequent ones, when the salvation of the whole world was born. Luke, for accuracy in time, adds this about the first census made then: “In the forty-first year under Caesar Augustus, “it came out ... order to take a census of the whole earth... Joseph also went from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family of David, to enroll with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child" ("the commandment came from... Augustus to write the whole world. This is the first writing... And Joseph also went up from Galilee... to Judea, to the city of David, who was called Bethlehem, having no longer been from the house and fatherland of David, was registered with Mary as his betrothed wife, who was not idle” (Luke 2:1-2, 4-5). Luke designates the first census in order to accurately determine the time and show that the greatest secret, although obvious, is not revealed. He says that the first and forced census is the birth of a person. It was necessary that, during the birth of Christ, and then the deification of the flesh, and the overthrow of the devil and the destruction of death, (that) the souls of the righteous and faithful were written down by name in the heavenly book, on earth by the command of Caesar, in heaven by the order of the Father to the angels. And the Lord, preaching this to His disciples, said: “Do not rejoice, because the spirits obey you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (“Do not rejoice, for the spirits obey you: rejoice, for your names are written in heaven”) (Luke 10:20). “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” for we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him" ​​("Jesus was born in Bethlehem Judea in the days of Herod..., behold, a wolf came from the east..., saying: where is the King of the Jews born? For we saw His star in the east and came to worship him") (Matthew 2: 1-2). Alas! I am amazed by the miracle, oppressed by the spectacle, and my tongue cannot find what to say first or what to omit. If I study His birth, I am amazed that the child performs signs before being born. Isn’t it the greatest sign that the Virgin remained a virgin by birth, and the silent sky speaks through a star? To those who are eager to see the newborn, He sends a star as a companion and shows the desired baby. Matthew remembers the wise men who came from the east, and Luke remembers the angels; he says: “There were shepherds in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (“and the shepherd kept watch and watch over his flock by night”) (Luke 2:8). And they saw the angel of the Lord, “and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were afraid with great fear. And the Angel said to them: Do not be afraid; I proclaim to you great joy that will be to all people: for today a Savior has been born to you in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord... And suddenly a large army of heaven appeared with an angel, praising God and crying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” ("and the glory of the Lord was theirs: and they were afraid with great fear. And the angel said to them: Do not be afraid: for behold, I bring you great joy that is good news, which will be for all people. For you will be born this day... Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And suddenly with the angel there was a great howl of the heavenly ones, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men favor") (Luke 2:8–11, 13–14). Christ was born: earthly things are combined with heavenly things, angels and people form choirs, shepherds on the field are awake, the wise men worship, the sky shines, the earth bears its brilliant fruit in a manger. Then what was written on earth was fulfilled: “Truth will arise from the earth” (“truth has risen from the earth”) (Ps. 84:12). Truth is Christ saying: “I am the way and the truth” (“I am the way and the truth”) (John 14:6). “From the earth,” that is, from the Virgin he shone according to the flesh. I ask, where did the Magi learn about the star, that they used its guidance to find the child they were looking for? Not as some imagined, it was a wandering star, and the Magi were not actually looking for the baby. If the star were a wandering one, how would it indicate the truth, Christ? She stopped in her flow as soon as she reached Him. How would the Magi, if they had not actually departed, bring such gifts from their labors, denoting His deity and humanity and fulfilling the prophetic word: “and he will live, and they will give him of the gold of Arabia” (“he will live, and will be given to him of the gold of Arabia”) (Ps. 71:15)? Not again, as the fabulous people say, that a star rises at every human birth; they don’t even know fabulous Hellenic astrology. They think they are Christians; to them we will say: “Oh, philosophers! If it was so, as you say, then tell us - when there were only two people, Adam and Eve, how (then) was the sky full of stars? And during the flood and destruction, how did the same stars not fall into the waters of all people, but the same multitude of stars remained, when there was only Noah with his three sons and their wives?” But you need to listen to Scripture and think about the mysterious! There was a prophet named Balaam, whom the king of Moab called to him to curse Israel, who had come out of the land of Egypt; whomever he blessed would be blessed, and whomever he would curse would be cursed; (but) he, approaching the Israeli camp, and ascending to the top of the mountain, saw Israel up in arms, took advantage of the comparison and said prophetically: “A star will rise from Jacob and a rod will arise from Israel, and will smite the princes of Moab and devastate the children of Ammon” (“a star will rise from Jacob, and a man will arise from Israel, and destroy the princes of Moab”) ( Num. 24:17). These magicians are from the family of the prophet Balaam, heirs of his books and prophecies; thinking that when the star shines, then man will also rise, namely, the King of the Jews, who will not only crush the leaders of Moab, but, according to Daniel, will weaken and scatter all the kingdoms of the devil - they observed this time; Seeing, in comparison with the others, a strangely shining star, they recognized that it was the anciently predicted one, followed (after it) and, having found the one born, rejoiced at the fulfillment of the prophecy. But you, listener, understand that the Magi are an image of the pagans who turned from their wickedness under the guidance of not perfect light, but as if reflected through John, (since) they were guided by a star (on the way) to Christ born in the flesh. Look: I also have a star that came before the baby and stopped in its flow. John, like a star, shone with his sermon, and showed Christ with the words: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (“Behold, the Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world”) (John 1:29); he stopped his flow, because he said: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (“He must increase, but I must decrease”) (John 3:30). “And entering the house,” the wise men found the boy and mother, “and fell down and worshiped Him” (Matthew 2:11). It is necessary that those who come to Christ from pagan life first fall from the heights of their wickedness, and so, as if rising from the earth, confess the birth of Christ in the flesh, and then partially hint at His deity. “And having opened their treasures, they brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh” (“And they opened their treasures, and brought him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh”) (Matthew 2:11): gold - as for a king, frankincense - as for God, myrrh - as for one who suffered for us. And Christ accepted these gifts, not because he was in need, but for the benefit of those who brought them. By accepting gold, He turned them away from the love of money; taking incense, he delivered (them) from idolatry; taking myrrh, cleansed their souls from deadness. If we need to consider another secret, we will study it carefully. They bring gold and myrrh to the newborn. Since it was written about Him: “Every tribe of heaven and earth and under the earth will worship Him” (Phil. 2:10), then with their offerings they foreshadowed the future: with gold - the praise of heavenly angels, incense - the genuflection of earthly people, myrrh - propitiation for the souls kept in hell. Since those who come to Christ need to possess the three virtues that Paul speaks of - faith, hope and love (1 Cor. 13:13), then, having opened the treasuries of the heart, they brought faith shining like gold, hope fragrant like incense, love binding like myrrh to the members of the church. “And having received a revelation in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their country by another way” (“And having received the news in a dream, they would not return to Herod, but went to their country by another way”) (Matthew 2:12). It was necessary that those who had once come to Christ should not return along the same tracks of wickedness; but, after practicing pure faith and deeds, they imperceptibly passed from the murderer of the serpent into the inheritance of Christ. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and in the Patrology of Min, classified as Spuria. You might be interested in: