HOMILY

By His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America

At the Divine Liturgy on Christmas Eve (Chorostasia)

Greek Orthodox Church of Our Savior

Rye, New York

December 24, 2023

 

My beloved sisters and brothers in the Lord,

Today is Christmas Eve! And in the hymns of Great Vespers, there is this lovely idiomelon, which goes:

Τὶ σοι προσενέγκωμεν Χριστέ, ὅτι ὤφθης ἐπὶ γῆς ὡς ἄνθρωπος δι' ἡμᾶς; ἕκαστον γὰρ τῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ γενομένων κτισμάτων, τὴν εὐχαριστίαν σοι προσάγει· οἱ Ἄγγελοι τὸν ὕμνον, οἱ οὐρανοὶ τὸν Ἀστέρα, οἱ Μάγοι τὰ δῶρα, οἱ Ποιμένες τὸ θαῦμα, ἡ γῆ τὸ σπήλαιον, ἡ ἔρημος τὴν φάτνην· ἡμεῖς δὲ Μητέρα Παρθένον. Ὁ πρὸ αἰώνων Θεὸς ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.

What shall we offer Your, O Christ, for You have for our sakes appeared on earth as man? Truly each of the creations made by You offers You thanks: the Angels, their hymn; the heavens, the Star; the Shepherds, their wonder; the Magi, their gifts; the earth, the Cave; the desert, the Manger; and we, a Virgin Mother. O Pre-eternal God, have mercy upon us.

I am especially touched by the gift-giving that fills every mention of this hymn. We obviously think a great deal about giving gifts in this season, and we sometimes become overwhelmed by the rush to get everything just right for those we love.

But in this hymn, we hear something different – something organic and not forced. Creation welcomes its Creator. Each of God’s creatures – animate and inanimate – bring forth a gift:

The Angels … the song that proclaims, “Glory to God in the Highest!”

The Heavens … the Star that guided the Magi.

The Shepherds … their awestruck wonder.

The Magi … the gold, the frankincense, and myrrh.

The Earth … the Cave where the Lord was born in the presence of humble beasts of burden.

The Desert … the stone for the Manger in which the Babe slept.

And as for us – the whole of the human family? What do we bring as a gift? The Virgin Mother! The Theotokos is our gift; for in her we all share the human nature that the Lord took on.

In all our Liturgies and most of our services, we recite the Creed, which speaks of the relationship of our Lord with the Father:

“of one essence with the Father, through Whom all things were made.”

But the same could be said of the Lord’s relationship with His Mother. Surely, he was consubstantial with her – of one essence – for as the Apostle Paul reminds us:

But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law.*

That “fullness of time” is now, it is Christmas. Our Lord was born completely the son of His mother. His human nature was her human nature – all the way down to her DNA. And her human nature is ours.

So when we say that we offer her to Him, we are offering ourselves as well. We are bringing our humanity before the Lord of Creation – with all our faults, all our shortcomings, and all our sins. But the Lord does not spurn any of the gifts of creation.

The Cave was probably quite dirty, yet the Christ deigned to be born there.

The Manger was hard and unrelenting, yet the Newborn Babe of Bethlehem slept peacefully within it.

The Shepherds wondered about a Child, whose purpose lay well beyond their understanding.

And the Magi offered three precious gifts, but still must seem paltry, when you compare them with the vast stores of jewels, gold and all other precious material that the world contains.

The heavens offered only a single Star from all the galaxies. But this singular Star lighted the way to the Child.

And the Angels – who ceaselessly chant “Holy, Holy, Holy!” in the Heavenly Tabernacle – offered just enough to spur the Shepherds on.

You see, my friends, each creation offers what it can. For the purpose it serves.

Therefore, on the Christmas Eve, let us offer with generosity and joy the Virgin Mother of God, and with her, offer ourselves anew to the Babe of Bethlehem. The gifts we shall receive in return far exceed anything we could imagine, for they are the “unfathomable riches of Christ.” †

Merry Christmas to all!

Χριστὸς γεννᾶται! Δοξάσατε!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

* Galatians 4:4.

† Ephesians 3:8.

 

Photos: Archdiocesan District