Lord at Thy Birth: A Perfect Perception of Peace

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"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

Our Lord Jesus Christ was born Lord at His Holy Birth. His humble birth and birthplace signified the holiness of heart and the utmost purity of life. His magnificent Birth was in tumultuous and travailing times and yet His Holy Birth was free from emotional upheaval. Those witnessing His Holy Birth and those who came to worship our Lord were neither influenced nor intoxicated by their cultural climate, diversity, or by earthly desires or interests.

The Apostolic Constitution compiled c. 390 instructs us...

"Let us not think it strange when we are persecuted."

The Holy Family looked towards Heaven and was confident that God would provide for all their needs. God indeed provided the earthly blessings for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ with shelter in the spirit of humbleness:

A shelter free from ungodliness and the harsh elements of weather
A shelter free from death, harm, and prejudice
A shelter conducive to ensuring the privacy and purity of an Immaculate birth and its encompassing humility
A humble shelter comprised of stones; a single stone establish His Church and one stone rolled away forever symbolizing the Eternal King of Peace

1. Free from Ungodliness and Winds of Cold and Rain
Obscurity of His birthplace was the theme of the Nativity for the One born as Lord and the awaited Messiah. Our Lord Jesus Christ was born into serene shelter. There were no strumming harps of gold or resounding timbrels to announce His Holy Birth. Our beloved Lord was the awaited upon and prophesied Messiah. Yet He was not born into a palace, there was no joyous announcement in the Temple courtyard of His Holy Birth, actually there was not even a place at a nondescript inn upon arrival to Bethlehem for His shelter and birth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was born into a Jewish family, descendents of the house of David, and not within or among the governing political party of the Romans. His Holy birthing garment was not purple nor was He transported in a chariot for all to see and pay homage to. Rather our Lord Jesus Christ wore swaddling strips of cloth and was born in the shelter near a donkey and ox. Our Lord would share shelter in a cave utilized for safe keeping of animals and His Holy head would first touch their feeding manager as His place of rest following birth.

When St. Joseph learned there was no room in the inn for his betrothed St. Mary in the last trimester of pregnancy and soon to deliver her first born Son, we are not told he was infuriated at the unfairness of the long journey, St. Mary's condition and inexperience, nor of the insensitivity of shelter. Neither are we told he transferred feelings of bitterness upon his expectant wife or threw stones at the windows or doors of the inn. We are not told St. Joseph, in his tiredness and complaint, gathered together all the Jewish men within the city's parameters and formulated a plan to retaliate. Rather St. Joseph peacefully accepted an offer of a nearby cave where animals were sheltered for safe keeping. He put his faith in God to provide for his family, the Holiest of Families.

It was among the animals of the cave that our Lord, the infant Jesus Christ, was born and drew His first human breath. In modern times this would have led to indignation and outrage. Put into perspective and not perception, one may actually see the circumstance for what the potential of a cave could have been. The cave in the side of the mountain probably had stood the test of time, was made of rock, and not easily decomposable. It had stood and would continue to stand the test of God's time. It was a shelter, a place of refuge, in similarity to our beloved and eternal Lord Jesus Christ.

The animals within the cave could be surmised to have been domesticated and peaceful. They would not have been anxious if humans and their diversions were among them. Otherwise perhaps they may have been wild and left tied in the fields. As a rock for shelter, the cave surely was free from wind, rain, and conceivably from the noise of mindless banter, cursing, and gossip. With animals housed within, the climate must have been warm from their amassed body temperatures, particular with the abated wind and rain.

Through close examination of the birthplace, inside the cave of the humblest and lowliness of circumstance, there would be no one drinking wine therefore no drunkards shouting obscenities, no one worshipping false gods and idols to touch the same floors, and no sexual immorality under the same roof in which one would have slept. In a sense, it was free from all iniquity. The cave provided the sublimity of peacefulness and serenity.

The cave was comprised of the strongest and enduring rock. It had survived all the catastrophes of earthly elements, perhaps from the origin of time itself, and still stood. It stood strong, sheltered our Lord Jesus Christ, and veiled His Holy birth from those who sought to take His Holy life. Perhaps this was a foretelling of our Lord Jesus Christ telling St. Peter "...on this rock I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). The true rock is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and His Holy Church is the confession that faith borne unto insidious persecution much greater than 2000 years ago from today.

2. Free From Certain Death, Harm, and Prejudice
Our Lord Jesus Christ was born in a climate of travesty and travail. Nothing would have pleased a ruler such as King Herod more than the death of the Holy Infant whom he perceived as potentially usurping his authority. His obsession over the influence of One infant led him to make a proclamation to have all Jewish infants two years and under to be mercilessly slaughtered. This assurance to prevent death of our infant Lord was issued for an infant who is not humanly developmentally old enough for word recognition and who is without political ambition to rule a country.

Can you imagine the enormity of blood spilled from such multitudes of first born sons' lives taken because they were of a particular race and due to a king's paranoia? First born Jewish sons taken from the comfort and safety of their dwelling places were killed. Yet our Lord, abiding in a cave that sheltered animals, was not discovered and did not suffer this certain death.

"If any one ruler whatever prohibits the Greek philosophy, that philosophy vanishes immediately. But our doctrine on its very first proclamation was prohibited by both kings and tyrants, as well as by local rulers and governors...In fact they tried as far as they could to exterminate it. However, it flourishes the more, for it does not die as does human doctrine...Rather it remains unchecked, although prophesied as destined to be persecuted to the end" (St. Clement of Alexandria c.195).

Our Lord Jesus Christ was free from emotional harm. No one within the shelter could make a disparaging remark, could point an arrow, or could raise a stone to harm our peaceful Lord Jesus Christ as He lay sleeping in the animals' manger. Only those within the confines of the cave could openly adore and worship Him. In essence, our Lord Jesus was born in a private room within a private dwelling place.

No one could belittle or ridicule Him for the Holy Family's beliefs in God the Father, for His Jewish heritage, nor for simple acceptance of His Holy Family's conduct. No one could laugh at His Holy Head lying in a manager nor the swaddling cloth strips wrapped around His Holy Body. Born out of humbleness, among humbleness, and displaying humbleness, He was the epitome of mankind. Our Lord Jesus Christ was not subjected to psychological harm.

As foreknowledge knew and worthy of the King of Peace, the cave was fortified; there was no conflict to be heard, no pain to be experienced, and no anxiety to be felt. Not only was the cave the wisest of choices for Wisdom to be born, but was also the safest of choices for the security and purity of One born so Holy.

3. Free from Public Scrutiny and Speculation
We are not our Creator. We neither created the world we live in nor can we predict its course. We are not to minimize our Lord's Jesus Christ's strength by his humility. His humanness and His humbleness were intertwined with wisdom, strength, and divinity. Humility was born in a cave, cultivated, and advanced not for earthly gain and recognition but for transformation into a spiritual essence for Heavenly procurement. Our Lord's birth was not on public display in a shelter where many did not enter in. One did not pass by a manger for animals on route to visit a friend or relative. Social gatherings were not planned around a manger that held nourishment for animals.

There is strength, discernment as well as endurance in humility. Just as His Holy Birth, we are told in His burial "this Man" was like a lion resting in a cave. Those who bless this Man are blessed and but those who do not are cursed. It is said...

"'He lies down to rest like a lion, and like a lion's cub who shall rouse Him? Those who bless You are blessed, and those who curse You are cursed.'" (Numbers 24:9; OSB).

A cave was our Lord Jesus Christ's earthly birthplace for His humbleness and secured His humble earthly ending until one stone was rolled away. How humbleness is perceived is in the perception of the heart not the mind. Our Lord Jesus Christ was born of God's creation, a cave, not an inn built by man. Perhaps we can find a clue of the creation God had chosen as a dwelling place for the Glorious Nativity:

"'How beautiful are your dwellings, O Jacob, like wooded valleys offering shade, and like gardens by the rivers, like tents the Lord has pitched, like cedars beside the waters, a Man shall come forth from his seed,...'" (Numbers 24:5-7;OSB).

4. The Strength and Symbolization of the Stones
A shelter of stones would cover our Lord Jesus Christ at His Glorious Nativity, a single stone come to figuratively establish His Church and one rolled away stone would earmark Him forever as the Eternal King of Peace. He was all powerful and all knowing. Our Lord was glorious without winning a battle or waging a war. His Holy Name has been honored throughout thousands of years and His teachings have been preserved through innumerable writers and spoken in countless languages.

Our glorious Lord Jesus Christ was worshipped at His Holy Birth. The Holy Family did not turn those away whom God sent to worship our Lord. Humbleness would inspire the wisest of kings and the simplest of shepherds.

The wise men, considered foreigners in Bethlehem and Judea, were brought forth by a shining star. It was a star they had watched and waited upon to appear. It was a star that shone brighter and higher than any other star both then and now. A brightly shining star lit the way of worship to our Lord. It was a peaceful sign in a troubled political climate.

"I will show Him but not now; I will bless Him, but He is not near. A Star shall rise out of Jacob; and a Man shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17; OSB).

The wise men of the East knew this prophecy well and when they saw His Star they followed it to the cave where He was born.

"At the time of His birth, Magi came from Arabia and worshipped Him...When the Child was born in Bethlehem, since Joseph could not find an inn in that village, he took up his lodging in a certain cave near the village. While they were there, Mary brought forth the Christ and placed Him in a manger. Here the Magi who came from Arabia found Him" (Justin Martyr c.160).

The shepherds were heralded by heavenly hosts of angels rather than a star. Again the peace of angels, the voice of heavenly choir, and the proclamation a savior had been born among those tending their sheep. There was no political proclamation, no force of respect to be paid, and no military army to protect Him. A star would bring the wise men, who studied astrology, to our Lord. Angels would bring the shepherds to witness the birth of One born among animals who would Himself be called a Shepherd. Each group of a different language, culture, morays and norms brought together by their belief.

The significance to all was that our Lord Jesus Christ would be among them and not dictating forcefully over them. He would bring peace to those who could comprehend it, peace to those whose hearts wanted to live it, and peace to those who suffered in this life but desired eternity.

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27).

Our wonderful Lord Jesus did not incite anxiety, fear, or panic to induce others to accept His Holy teachings. He did not aspire to be a ruler, to form an army, or proclaim His lordship. He taught and preached by example, by being humble, and by living humbly. He did not arise as a ruler out of conflict or war. Perhaps this is why He will forever be known as Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and Prince of Peace by most throughout the world today, more than 2000 years later. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lover of Peace, did not leave behind any war torn countries, anyone slain by the sword, nor any incited families against the other.

Churches have altars in His Name and Divine liturgies celebrate the season of His birth, plays proudly re-enact His Holy Birth, and millions seek out His birth place in Bethlehem each year, so how can we comprehend His life as anything but Holy and righteous actions?

We must follow the example that He has left behind and seek the peacefulness in all things no matter the difficulty our minds tell us or presents itself. We must have faith in the Father just as our Lord Jesus Christ. We must not look to violence, to righting wrongs, and to desiring to bring about justice. Instead we must remember the beginning; the Child laying in a manger among the animals not an inn, where God destined Him and where peace abounded.

From such lowly beginnings raised our ardent love of the Holy Family and came forth the Nativity a time of peace in a world plagued with evil men. No one educated in psychology, no one experienced in war and weaponry, and no one having sanctuary as a high priest from the tribe of Levi. Their existence depended entirely upon God. For a family so defenseless, it is a fact, not an assumption, that they relied on God from one moment in time to the next. And it is evident that the Holy Family was very content to do so.

"The One peaceful and trustworthy tranquility, the One solid, firm, and constant security is this: for a man to withdraw from this whirlpool of a distracting world and to lift his eyes from earth to Heaven, anchored on the ground of the harbor of salvation...He who is actually greater than the world can crave nothing or desire nothing from the world. How stable, how free from all shocks is that safeguard how heavenly...to be loosed from the snares of this entangling world and...to be purged from earthly dregs and to be fitted for the light of eternal mortality" (Cyprian c.250).

During this Koiahk season, seek the cave and its fortress of humility and pray to our Lord Jesus Christ to lead us toward its peaceful enrichment through an increasingly humble spirit acknowledging that only God can provide the needed shelter in times of disparity. Let us all light a candle for those who suffer persecution and pray that they find shelter and strength of conviction in the Lord our God. The lighted candles will not only be lit to bring consolation but to symbolize the light of the heart to allow the strength of humbleness in and encourage the injustices of this world and its persecutions to fade away.

Our Lord is the life giver for the dawn of redeeming grace and its promise of a peaceful eternity. May we all seek the heavenly peace born into a shelter of inspirational humbleness upon the Glorious Nativity...

Just as the word peace has grown to signify both a greeting of welcome and farewell, there is only One perception of Perfect Peace through our Lord Jesus Christ Who reconciled humanity to God. Our Prince of Peace was born "Lord at Thy birth".

Peace be to all,

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