Проповедь на спасительное по плоти Рождество Господа и Бога и Спаса нашего Иисуса Христа

I see how today Heaven and earth are equal in dignity, I see how that which is below the earth ascends to where that which is above all in the world resides. No matter how extraordinary the nature, state and honor of the supermundane may be, there is nothing more extraordinary and delightful than the Bethlehem cave with its manger and swaddling clothes of Christ. If we take everything that God has done for man since the ages, then there will be nothing more useful and more divine than the Nativity of Christ, which we celebrate today. The eternal and indescribable Son of God is born according to the flesh in a cave. He does not have His own home. He has nowhere to live, and He, the Infant of God, is placed in a feeding trough from which dumb animals eat... The Invisible becomes Visible. You can touch God, He is wrapped in swaddling clothes. However, His flesh was not born in order to soon decay. God united with human nature in the second Person of the Holy Trinity. This happened in such a way that the Divine and human natures did not merge into one, but created one godly Hypostasis, which lived in the virgin womb and was born without violating the chastity of the Mother of God. And the Most Pure Virgin Herself, who at the time of the conception of the Son of God was above all passionate pleasure, at the time of His birth appeared above all suffering associated with childbirth. It is not only the Divinity that defies research, but also the way in which God the Word united with the flesh. It is impossible to understand this with the mind. This condescension of God is indescribable, it surpasses all mind and word. Now Christ is the same and Perfect God as before the incarnation, and at the same time – a perfect Man. Seeing how His rational creatures were rendered useless by the fall and sin, He bestowed Himself upon them, giving them the opportunity to receive remission of sins. The devil could not come to terms with being lower than one of the angels, or even being lower than God Himself. So, he wanted to become equal to the Creator Himself. It was here that his terrible fall awaited him. Having fallen, but unable to endure what happened to him, he envy began to be at enmity with man and with flattery seduced Adam into disobedience. Thus, the leader of evil acted as an example of evil, which is imitated and of which those who prefer it to God become accomplices. The humane God was pleased to free His creatures from the proud malice of the devil. He descended from on high, humbled himself and became poor for our sake, uniting human and Divine nature. So He showed everyone that humility is the path that leads to Heaven. Now even the angels have learned from the Lord Christ that the way to become like Him is not exaltation, but humility. People can easily correct their mistakes by recognizing that humility is the path that leads them to God. This gives them the opportunity to improve. The Nativity of Christ shamed and defeated the devil. And now he is trampled upon by those who were previously under his feet. The one who defines the boundaries of everything and is not limited by anything is now wrapped in poor people’s swaddling clothes. By His own will, He becomes a beggar and, wanting to see a person rich again, takes a census of the number of slaves. Therefore, the one who has realized and comprehended the honor received from God by our nature, the one who has comprehended His love for mankind, will eagerly rush to Him. Such a person will listen and teach His commandments. He will be amazed at the mystery of our re-creation. The star accompanying the Magi stopped when they stopped, and continued moving when they began to move on. She was their leader, she did not leave them for a moment until they reached the place where Christ was. The Magi bowed to Christ and brought Him gold, incense and myrrh. These gifts were brought to Him because by His death, symbolized by myrrh, He gave us Divine life, symbolized by frankincense, and Divine radiance and Kingdom, symbolized by gold. The shepherds today form a single choir with the angels for the sake of the Newborn Christ. The reason for the current general doxology is that the world has received the joyful news of the Birth of the Savior of people. Favor and joy came for everyone. Brethren, we have received as an inheritance from our Savior Jesus Christ the spirit of adoption. We have become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Let us have peace among ourselves. Let us be chaste, let us always say and do what is true and righteous, let us devote ourselves to prayers and supplications. Let us sing a song to God not only with our lips, but with our hearts. Let us maintain inner peace within ourselves and subordinate the flesh to the spirit. Let us treat our brothers with love and condescension, let us bring them love, imitating Christ, Who brought love to us. We are freed from corruption. We are the children of our Heavenly Father, so let us enjoy heavenly and eternal blessings. I prayerfully wish that we will all be worthy of this pleasure, joy and glory, which our Lord Jesus Christ is preparing for us in His future Coming.