THE BIRTH OF CHRIST: The Son and Logos/Word of God made man.

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST: The Son and Logos/Word of God made man.

Saint John Chrysostom writes: "That which, long ago, the Patriarchs of the Old Testament travailed with, the Prophets foretold, and the Righteous desired to see, has come to pass, and received its completion today: God both was seen upon the earth through flesh and associated with humans. Therefore, let us rejoice and be glad, beloved. For if John, being in (his) mother’s womb, leapt when Mary visited Elizabeth much more we, having beheld not Mary, but our very Savior brought forth this day, ought to leap and exult and wonder and be astonished at the magnitude of the economy exceeding all thought. For consider how great it would be to see the sun, descended from the heavens, running its course upon earth and thence sending forth its rays upon all. And if this happening in the case of the perceptible sun would have astounded and who beheld it behold consider with me how great it is to see the Sun of Righteousness sending forth rays from our flesh and illuminating our souls. For a long time I was desiring to see this day, and not simply to see it, but with so great a crowd – and I was praying continually for our theatre to be filled, just as now it is possible to see it filled. Accordingly this has come to pass and reached its goal…

"My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing, The Archangels blend their voices in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His Glory. All join to praise the Holy Feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below, and he that was lowly is by Divine mercy raised.
Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of Angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side. the Sun of Justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed; He had the power; He descended; He redeemed; all things yielded in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of Divinity He became man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Logos/Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassibility, remaining unchanged…

"Christ; finding the holy body and soul of the Virgin, builds for Himself a Living Temple, and as He had willed, formed there a man from the Virgin; and, putting Him on, this day came forth; unashamed of the lowliness of our nature. For it was to Him no lowering to put on what He Himself had made. Let that handiwork be forever glorified, which became the cloak of its own Creator. For as in the first creation of flesh, man could not be made before clay had come into His hand, so neither could this corruptible body be glorified, until he had first become the garment of its Maker…

"Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, Paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been bought back, the speech of kindness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been in planted on the earth, Angels communicate with men without fear; and men now hold speech with Angels.

"Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He was God. Wherefore He became flesh, so that He Whom heaven did not contain, a manger would this day receive. He was placed in a manger, so that He, by Whom all things are nourished, may receive an infants food from His Virgin Mother. So, the Father of all ages, as an infant at the breast, nestles in the virginal arms, so that the Magi may more easily see Him. Since this day the Magi too have come, and made a beginning of withstanding tyranny; and the heavens give glory, as the Lord is revealed by a Star…"

In speaking about the Son and Logos/Word of God Who became man, it is essential also to look at the names which we give to Him, because they express various theological truths. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity before the incarnation is called Son and Logos/Word of God. The name ‘Son’ indicates that He was begotten of the Father, and what was begotten is His hypostatic character. The name ‘Logos/Word of God’ is used to indicate not only the impassibility of this begetting but also tis relating and proclaiming function, according to Saint Gregory the Theologian. He is called ‘Logos/Word’ because He is related to the Father in the way in which a man’s word is related to his nous. That is to say, the word proclaims the thoughts and what is in the nous. Thus the name ‘Logos/Word’ shows us the Father as well, because he who understands and sees the Logos/Word also understands and sees the Father in the Logos/Word.

In Christ there are TWO BIRTHS. One birth is before all ages, from the Father beyond cause, word, time and nature, and the other was made for us b the Most Holy Theotokos "at the time of conception," but "beyond any law of conception.," because He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and NOT by seed. The Son and Logos/Word of God was born before all ages of a Virgin Father, without a mother, and in time, from a Virgin Mother, without a corporeal father. Both births were without passion and without a flow, because neither did God the Father suffer anything by the birth, nor did Panagia (All-Holy Mother of God) lose her virginity by the birth.

Christ’s Incarnation is also called self-emptying (KENOSIS). The words of the Apostle Paul are astonishing: "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross" [Philippians 2:6-8].

The kenosis of the Logos/Word must be taken as CONDESCENSION. "He comes down to the level of his servants, an ineffable and incomprehensible condescension (Saint John of Damascus). He comes down to the level of the human race, taking on the form of a servant, that is to say, the flesh, and in some way belittles and diminishes His Divinity, without ceasing to be God, in order to be finite (Saint Gregory the Theologian). These words of Saint Gregory the Theologian are characteristic: "He that is full empties Himself, for He empties Himself of His glory for a short while, that I may have a share in His fullness."

Without His KENOSIS He could not have become man’s fulfillment and deification (theosis). Moreover, the Divine Kenosis also shows us just what love is. LOVE IS KENOSIS, SACRIFICE, OFFERING, TAKING ON OF THE OTHER. THIS IS WHY AS FAR AS MAN IS ILLUMINATED AND DEIFIED (THEOSIS) HE HUMBLES HIMSELF, AND VISE VERSA. [Source:  The Feasts of the Lord by Metropolitan HIerotheos]

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"Glory Be to GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George