Sunday after the Nativity of Christ

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Great and marvelous deeds are come to pass. The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us. God is become Man in order to renew our nature. A great sign shone forth in the heavens. A star, unique in its glory, led the magi from Persia to the Divine Infant, much as did the Pillar of Fire lead the Israelites of old through the desert. These Magi were guided first to Jerusalem so that, by God's dispensation, knowledge of the sign in the heavens was brought to the rulers of Israel and the Magi would learn of the ancient prophesies concerning the awaited Messiah.

The wise men followed the star and traveled a great distance for many weeks to encounter Christ our Savior as a small babe and then they were told in a dream to depart another way. For all of us who converted to Orthodoxy as adults, was it not the same? We encountered our Christ, we were baptized and the only way to remain true to Him was to depart 'another way" that is, to take up a way of life that is not dedicated to maintaining a personal "status quo."

In order to be true to our Savior, each one of us, no matter what rank we hold or how long we have been in the Church must ask our self, are we doing things according to God or do we only appear outwardly to be believers and followers of God? Do we seek to be obedient to God, or do we want God to be obedient unto us? Do we seek God's order in our life, or do we seek to establish our own order?

Herod had the appearance of being a believer and king of that great nation that was set apart from the other nations in its knowledge of God and correct worship. He took forty-six years to build a magnificent new Temple in Jerusalem. Yet, "When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him" (Matt 2:3). For the sake of maintaining his own status quo, Herod cast aside all pretense of piety and rebelled against God's plan for the salvation of mankind and sent forth his troops to kill all male infants from three years old and under in the region of Bethlehem in order to kill the Messiah.

There is a beautiful summary of these events from a hymn for "Lord I Have Cried" from the Vespers service for the feast of the 14,000 infants that were slain:

The most lawless and wicked king * sought to find out the Timeless King, * Who Himself had now become subject unto time, * and since he then did not find Him to destroy Him, he harvested * a great host of guileless babes, * whom he made to be martyrs, which * he had purposed not, * making them also citizens of the Kingdom on high where they do censure * his mindless folly forevermore.

Herod is called "Herod the Great" by scholars because of his political achievements and his many accomplishments in architecture.

Outward accomplishments can be quit impressive, but in the face of eternity, there is only one measure that is of ultimate importance: to remain faithful and true to God. As our Savior said, "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16: 15).

In that day of the Second coming, when 'the books of our hearts' shall be opened all those that warred against the order and rule of God's Kingdom will be found destitute and estranged from the source of Life.

One only needs to look around at what is happening in so-called world orthodoxy to see that many of those who claim to be hierarchs of the Church and successors of the Apostles have overturned what those same Apostles and their immediate successors have handed down to us. The Pan-heresy of Ecumenism overturns the basic teachings of the Creed that proclaims that there is "One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church." Modernist hierarchs think lightly of removing the boundaries that the Holy Fathers have set, that is, they overturn the Canons of the Holy Fathers, lead astray some of the faithful through making a pretense of piety in order to more effectively deceive with their subtle falsehoods. These false bishops demand obedience to themselves, all while they ignore and are disobedient to the canons.

These are difficult times and we must be wise. As Saint Ignatius once wrote, "Weigh carefully the times. Look for Him who is above all time, eternal and invisible, yet who became visible for our sakes." (The Epistle of Saint Ignatius to Saint Polycarp)

Today the status quo of the kingdom of this world is in opposition to the Kingdom of God and our modern culture of death in America allows the slaughter of innocent babes in the womb through the many abortions of convenience that are perpetrated every year.

In addition, there are other atrocities more grievous than Herod's act of killing 14,000, who were physically slain and then united to God. The culture of immoral dissipation in North America causes spiritual death and estrangement from God. The media, and at times even our government schools, inculcates the young in ways of life that are completely contrary to Christian values.

We must guard our hearts and, not only protect our youth, but also equip them to fight the good fight that is essential for salvation. To be a Christian is a struggle. Our Savior was born and 14,000 infants were slain and the God-Man became a refugee. Yet, through all of these temptations and more, our Savior attained the ultimate victory through His death and resurrection. We participate in that victory of the resurrection through the Mysteries of the Church, but we still need to work out many practical details in our day-to-day life.

The Church is the repository of the good, the true, and the beautiful. We cannot assume that our children will gain knowledge of the things of God by osmosis. The default culture that knows not the God of Israel seeks to convert our young. In this pluralistic culture where ideas compete, we need to speak to our youth in season and out of season concerning the Church, God's revelation, and the answer to the questions of why we were created and what this life is all about.

Education and career are important, but it is more important for all of us to maintain a spiritually balanced life. The decisions we make in life must be made with the intention of participating in a Eucharistic community wherein one can grow. If one is found far from a parish, then home prayer and ritual takes on an even more vital role.

We Christians of the last times need to identify and forearm ourselves and our families against present day threats to our spiritual well being. Parents would not think of inviting perfect strangers into their homes and allowing them to say and do inappropriate things in front of their children, yet, the various forms of the media do just that. Controlling the media in the home is essential.

Let us seek to be renewed. Let us return unto God by hearkening unto the angelic messengers and "return by another way," that is by rejecting obedience to the ideas of this age and embracing obedience to the Timeless One Who entered time for our sake. Amen.