Feast of the Holy Nativity

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My dear beloved,

On this very happy occasion of the feast of the Holy Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, I would like to extend my best wishes to you all, and to congratulate ourselves for what God the Almighty has done for us; as we recall His amazing humility and endless love for mankind; remembering St. Paul's instructions to us to embrace at all times, God's mind at His incarnation. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, 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 of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:5-9).

Becoming nothing is extremely apparent in the Son's act of bending His will to the will of the Father. The Son came to the world as High Priest, and had to have a sacrifice to offer. "For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer" (Hebrews 8:3). But what is He to offer when the Father is not pleased "in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin" (Hebrews 10:6)? Since the Father did not want the Son, on His coming to the world, to offer Him an animal sacrifice or an offering; He prepared for Him a body to present it as an offering "Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: 'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me'" (Hebrews 10:5). So, what was the Son's reaction? The Son submitted all of His will to that of the Father when he said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God" (Hebrews 10:9).

The Son, in total submission and obedience to the Father's will, complied praying in Gethsemane three times, shortly before His death on the cross, saying, "not as I will, but as You will" and "Your will be done" (Mathew 26:39,42). Thus, the Son became the High Priest and the sacrifice at the same time and submitted until death on the cross.

How magnificent! He, whom heaven and earth obey, submitted in amazing humility to His good Father. St. Paul tells us that the son continues to submit to the Father until His second coming, "Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28).

It was only through the Son's bending of His will and total submission to the Father, that the Father's will and pleasure in saving and sanctifying the world was made possible. So the Father was glorified in the Son (John 17:4). That is why when the angels witnessed the incarnation, they shouted joyfully, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14). They knew that in this nativity was the glorification of the Father and fulfillment of His will.

This mind, that of becoming nothing shakes the faithful at every Divine Liturgy. When we stand before the Son's sacrifice of full submission and total obedience; we cannot help but fully submit all our freedoms to God, the Pantocrator. The father priest leads us in this offering when he says, "I offer to you, O my master the symbols of my freedom. I write my deeds according to your words" (The Gregorian Liturgy).

Our fathers, the saints, offered their lives in full submission to God; St. Paul manifested his readiness in his words: "Lord, what do You want me to do?" (Acts 9:6) and his advice to us: "Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?" (Hebrews 12:9) shows full submission to God as the only way to live life in its fullness. On the other hand, rebelling against God and rejecting His will leads to death and eternal damnation as befell the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who rejected the will of God for themselves (Luke 7:30).

As for us, despite our daily prayers in which we proclaim "Your will be done"; we reject this will and rebel against it all the time rather proclaiming: "let our will be done." Instead of offering a prayer of submission and obedience to God's will, we turn our prayers into a long list of demands and wants according to our will presenting them to God to fulfill for us "according to our will" without the decency of consulting Him first nor getting His consent about them.

Submitting to God is a sign of faith in Him; because the myrrh that He chooses for us is far sweeter than whatever good we choose for ourselves. God chose that St. Paul's thorn in the flesh remain with him despite his pleadings; and St. Paul accepted gladly and thankfully (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) trusting, "that all things work together for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28).

Submitting to God is a sign of our true self discovery. We possess neither wisdom nor knowledge; for God has "made foolish the wisdom of this world" (1 Corinthians 1:20). Therefore, we should reject our own self counseling, not out of humility; but because the wisdom of the wise will be destroyed and the understanding of the prudent will be brought to nothing (1 Corinthians 1:19). The more we acquire self-knowledge, the more we will realize the need to submit to God. St. Peter experienced this confessing: "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net" (Luke 5:5).

Hence the question that poses itself today is whether the society that fights prayers in school, defends sin and legalizes it; and denies God's commandments is a society that submits to God's will. Absolutely not! A society that is saturated with crime, injustice, sin, divorce, theft, adultery, pornography, etc…evidences a rebellious, God–void society. Those who defend these practices under the pretext of love and tolerance are duped as much as our mother Eve was duped by the serpent, "Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD; let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:40-41).

Beloved brethren, let us trust in Him Who, born in a manger; came specifically to deliver us, console the small-spirited, make peace on earth and reconcile us to the Father. He came for us to have a life and a better one.

I pray that God bless your lives, grant peace to His church and the whole world and keep the life of our honored father Pope Shenouda, the third. A very happy new year and blessed Nativity Feast to you all.

Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States