Christ is born!  Glorify Him!

“And the Word became flesh!…in order to make us earthly beings into heavenly ones, in order to make sinners into saints; in order to raise us up from corruption into incorruption, from earth to heaven; from enslavement to sin and the devil – into the glorious freedom of children of God; from death – into immortality, in order to make us sons of God and to seat us together with Him upon the Throne as His royal children. O, boundless compassion of God! O, inexpressible wisdom of God! O, great wonder, astounding not only the human mind, but the angelic [mind] as well!” ~St. John of Kronstadt

Dearest Spiritual Ohana,

It is a season of great joy as we come to celebrate our Lord’s Glorious Nativity!  The joy comes from God’s Immense, Immeasurable Love for us humans which is so completely generous and expresses what great lengths God has gone and goes for us.  Consider and ponder this:  that God loves us so much that He would condescend (humble Himself to such an extreme degree) to take on our human flesh.  He Who created everything:  the sun, the stars, the moon, the earth, the universe, every living creature, you and me included, etc.,  would stoop beyond the depths and to the lowest places to be born in the humblest of places, be taken care of by human parents, fed, learn to speak, to die in the flesh in order to conquer and free us from death.  This is what a Loving God we have!

So let us exclaim with thanksgiving and gratitude, “Christ is born!  Glorify Him!”  And in exclaiming these words let us be determined to make these words a reality and give flesh to them with how we live our daily lives so that they reflect the Light of Christ to the rest of the world we live in which is often characterized by a lot of darkness, corruption and despair.  In other words our actions we take are a response to God for what He has done for us through His Incarnation.  This means for us to imitate Christ and acquire His mindset, which is what we mean, as Christians, to be “Christ-like.”

To be Christ-like is to model Him, in every way possible, in His human nature which He assumed for us, in His Love, Compassion and Mercy for our human race.  He is the “Target,” “Mark” and “Standard” for how we are to be as human beings.  We must strive to acquire His humanity and mindset, as much as is possible, in our free will as human beings.  Christ, Himself, tells us how to do this when He says, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave– just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  ~Matthew 20:25-28

Our commitment and growth in Christ, in acquiring His mindset, is a life-long effort, a “synergy” of cooperating with God and our fellow humans.  It continues up to the last breath we take.  And to get to know Christ is an eternal dynamic and process.  But our ultimate goal, as Christians, is to as St. Paul says in his Letter to the Galatians (2:20), “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” 

I wish all of you greatest joy as we come to celebrate our Lord’s Nativity and what it means for us.  He deserves our full devotion and worship, and to Him we give all Glory:  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will among all people!”

CHRIST IS BORN!  GLORIFY HIM!

With Love in Christ,

+Fr. Alexander