1951 Christmas Message to the Western European and Sino-Filipino Flock
By St. John Maximovitch
By St. John Maximovitch
Christ is born, glorify Him! Christ from heaven, respond to Him!
Raise your hands and with your tongues, shout to God with a voice of joy.
Rejoice righteous ones, rejoice heavens, mountains leap with joy, Christ is now born of the Virgin.
Born on earth is He who was born before all ages from the Father and created heaven and earth.
The beginningless accepts a beginning.
The Creator comes to His creation and Himself becomes a creation.
Having created man in His image, today He will take on the image of man.
The incarnated Son of God abides by God, not diminishing in His Divinity.
He also becomes a man, perceiving all human properties.
Who He remained: True God.
What He was not, He became: a man, out of love for man.
He remains without beginning according to the Father, and today He is born of the Virgin Mother.
God is born today as a man to save man.
Man who had fallen away from God is now intimately united with God.
Christ in His person unites the Divinity and humanity, becoming the God-man.
In His one body He reconciles people and God.
Through Him, all of us human beings are brought to the Father.
The God of peace, the Father of bounty, sent Him, as His Angel of Great Counsel, to give us peace. He brings peace to us, far and near.
We are not adversaries of God and we are not strangers to Him now, but the sons of God again accepted by Him.
Man had fallen away from God, but today God comes to people.
Man had sinned before God, and God sent to him the Great Messenger of Peace.
The Son of God descends to the fallen man on earth in order to raise man up to heaven.
O the wealth of goodness and mercy of God!
What can we give Him?
How shall we meet and glorify the Angel of Peace coming from heaven?
“Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Rom. 14:19).
"For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17).
Let us beware of those who cause division and temptations and turn away from them.
Let us cleanse our hearts from malice and evil thoughts.
Born today is He Who is our Peace!
He is the King of Peace and the Savior of our souls.
The unearthly peace breathes into our souls, giving the Holy Spirit.
He fills those with deep peace who have a pure heart and a good conscience.
He gives peace to His world when there is divine favor in men.
Magi from the east now come to Him.
Shepherds of gentleness proclaim a miracle.
Heaven and earth are united today, today the Angels of the Baby Born will glorify.
We praise with one, albeit unworthy, mouth and one heart with angels to Him:
Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace among those whom He is pleased! "Christ is born!"
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.