Слово в день Рождества Господа нашего Иисуса Христа. (Об обстоятельствах Рождества Христова). Святого Григория Двоеслова, папы Римского

In the days of Thou, a command came from Caesar Augustus to write down the entire universe. And I go to pee everywhere, each in his own city. Joseph also went up from the city of Nazareth to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (Luke 2:1, 3, 4). Intending, with God's help, to celebrate the upcoming celebration, I do not now intend to tire your attention, listeners, with a lengthy conversation; but, for the glory of the born Savior, I will talk briefly with you. First of all, let us say, brothers, why, before the Nativity of Christ, Augustus Caesar ordered a census to be taken throughout the entire universe. This census means that the Lord coming to us in the flesh will write down His elect in eternal life. In contrast to this, the Prophet says about the rejected: let them be consumed from the book of the living, and let them not be written with the righteous (Psalm 68:29). It is also appropriate that the Savior is born in Bethlehem, because Bethlehem is interpreted as the house of bread, and He (the Lord) Himself says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven (John 6:51). That is why the place where the Lord is born was called even earlier “the house of bread," because here He must certainly appear in the substance of the flesh, He who will satisfy the souls of the elect with spiritual food. He is born not in the parental home, but on the way, showing that according to His humanity, which He perceived, He is born, as it were, in a foreign place; I call it a stranger not in relation to His power, but in relation to His nature, for it is written about His power: He has come (John 1:11). By nature He was born before time, but came to us in time: therefore, when, being eternal, He appeared subject to time, the place where He descended was foreign to Him. And as the Prophet says: all flesh is hay (Ps. 40:6), then, having become man, He turned our hay into wheat, He who says of Himself: unless a grain of wheat dies, it remains one; but if it dies, it produces much fruit (John 12:24). Therefore, upon His birth, He reclines in a manger, so that all the faithful, as His saints, may be nourished with the wheat of His flesh, so that they will not remain hungry, without the food of eternal truth. And what does the appearance of an Angel mean to the vigilant shepherds, and showering them with Divine light, if not that they, more than others, are worthy of contemplating heavenly objects, which vigilantly rule over the flocks of the faithful? When they piously watch over the flock, Divine grace illuminates them the most. The birth of the King is announced by an Angel, and with the voice of the announcer the choirs of Angels unite their voices and exclaim with rejoicing: glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will towards men! Before our Redeemer was born in the flesh, we were in disagreement with the Angels, because, due to the first crime and constant sins, we were very far from their lordship and purity. Since, due to our sins, we were strange from God, the Angels, citizens of God, considered us strange, alien to their community. But when we came to know our King, the Angels recognized us as their fellow citizens: for just as the Heavenly King took on our earthly flesh, then the high angelic nature no longer despises our weakness. The Angels return to peace with us, put aside the previous thought of disagreement, and no longer despise us as powerless and outcasts, but respect us as comrades. Therefore, we see that when Lot and Joshua bow to the Angels, this worship is not forbidden to them: but when John (in his Apocalypse) wanted to bow to the Angel, the Angel himself restrained him and recognized it as indecent: see, he says, for I am a slanderer to you and your brethren (Apoc. 22:9). Why do the Angels remain silent until the coming of the Redeemer, seeing people worshiping them, and then refuse to worship? if not because they now see our previously despised nature exalted above them, and are afraid to see its fall before us? Now, as it were, they do not dare to despise beneath them, for their weakness, that nature that they honor above them in the Heavenly King. Those who worship the superior Man - God - do not consider it low for themselves to have a human partner. Let us try, beloved brethren, not to allow any uncleanness to defile us, remembering that according to eternal foreknowledge, we are both citizens of God and equal to the Angels of God. Let us strengthen our dignity with virtue, let no luxury defile us, let no dishonest thought accuse us, let malice not gnaw at our souls, let the ulcer of envy not corrupt us, let no conceit rise up, vanity not torment us with earthly pleasures, and anger not ignite. For men are called gods. Defend, O man, the honor of God against vices, because for you God became man, Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen 73. See Oper. s. Gregorii, Tom. V, Homil. in Evang. 8; compare “Conversations on the Gospels like our holy father Gregory Dvoeslov,” translated. archim. Clement. St. Petersburg, 1860, book. 1, pp. 67–71; "Sunday Reading", XI (1845–1846), country. 513–514; XIV (1850–1851), pp. 352–354. You might be interested in: