My dear friends in Christ,
Behold this new and wondrous mystery.
My ears ring with the shepherd’s song, though it is no mere lullaby, but a full-throated heavenly hymn. The angels sing. The archangels blend their voices in harmony. The cherubim lift up their joyful praise. The seraphim exalt the glory of the Lord. All creation joins to praise this holy feast, taking in the Godhead now arrived on earth, and men’s entry into heaven secured. For He Who is above, now, for the sake of our redemption has come to dwell below, and mankind, who is lowly and sinful, is by divine mercy raised to the place of Christ.
Bethlehem this day resembles heave, hearing from even the stars the angelic voices. In place of the sun, shining from every angle is the Son of Righteousness. But do not ask how this could be; do not ask how it would be that God would bring heaven to earth, for wherever God wills, nature bends to Him. And He willed that all things would bend the knee this day to the Lord of all Creation. He, Jesus, has the power, He descended from heaven, He redeemed creation, and all things are brought in obedience to God. He who is I Am is born, taking to Himself human flesh, but never leaving His divinity, His Godness, behind. Christ the Lord has always been God, and always will be, but today, He binds to Himself humanity forever.
And so, the kings have come to see the King from heaven that has come to the earth, not bringing with Him Angels nor Archangels nor Thrones nor Dominions nor Powers nor Principalities, but, doing a new thing, walks a path no king before Him ever has: to be born of a virgin’s womb.
Who can understand this? We ought not look to deeply into these things, for we can never understand the mechanisms of the holy birth of God the Son out of woman, the Eternal One becoming mortal and rising to bring immortality to light. Our nature cannot understand this, but we believe by faith that God the Son was begotten before all time, yet the virgin gave birth to Him. We ought not look too deeply, but venerate our Lord in silence and accept that He who has promised this would happen has done it. He has come.
What can we see this day? We see a mother, holding her child that she has born. I see a Child come to the light of this world by such a birth. Yet, we see that the mother was a virgin. The birth of this child is extraordinary, it is unique, never having happened and never happening again. Our Lord chose to be born from eternity through His mother, Mary.
It is only by the grace of God that we can see yet never fully understand. It is only by the grace of God that He who is beyond time and space, He who is before all ages, He who is simple in His nature, being spirit, for God is spirit, that we should behold His coming, that we should see His body, that He has taken on my body, your body, that He is visible and suffers as we do. And why has He done this? That He might teach us and lead us by the hand to things we cannot see. He guides us like a father to his son, to see and understand that which He gives and that He might remove all doubt from our hearts.
Christ built for Himself a Temple in human flesh, unashamed of sharing our human nature, lowering Himself to be like one of His own creation. Yet, He did not despise this, but was set firmly in love that by this act He should save those whom He loves. He did that so that this corruptible, this killable body He took to Himself would be glorified in the resurrection from the dead for the forgiveness of all sins.
How better can we describe this? The most astonishing act in all of history is that the Ancient of Days should become an infant. He who sits on the throne of God now lies in a manger. And He who cannot be touched or see lest the sinner die, now gives His life into the hands of men. He who has broken the bondage of sinners has His own hands swaddled to His side. Yet, for all the disgrace He should suffer at the hands of men, He counts it as honor, that He should, by His humiliation, win your eternal life.
For this reason, He shares in your very flesh, that you might come to faith by the very power of His Word. He takes your flesh, He gives you His spirit. He gifts, you receive. He prepares you for eternal life, you live forever. He has sanctified you, made you Holy, giving you His Spirit that He might save you.
So, come and observe the Feast. Come and observe His Supper, His Mass. Come and observe the Mass of Christ. Come observe this Christ’s Mass. This is the wondrous story of the Nativity, that He who would be the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, should lay Himself in a sheep’s manger, He who is life-giving bread would place Himself in the place where the sheep would eat.
And on this day, in this Mass, the ancient slavery to sin is ended, the devil and his demons are flattened under our feet, the power of death is broken, paradise is opened, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error is driven out, truth has been brought back, the kindliness of speech is given to all and spreads throughout the world, a heavenly way of life has been planted in the earth ready to give sprout, the angels speak along with man without fear, and men now possess the words and speech of the angels.
Why is this? Because God is now on earth and man is in heaven, and in every way, we now comingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He is God, He was God. But now He became flesh, so that he whom heaven did not contain would be caught up in His swaddling cloths in a manger. He who feeds the millions on His body and body would receive an infant’s food from His virgin mother. He who was before all time is now caught up in mortality. All that is human is now Christ’s and all that is God’s is now ours through Christ Jesus.
We toast them, to Him, who brought us out of our confusion and made a way. To Christ, to the Father, to the Holy Spirit, we offer all praise, now and forever. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
The Nativity Sermon of St. John Chrysostom (Original Translated Text)
Behold a new and wondrous mystery.
My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.
Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed; He had the power; He descended; He redeemed; all things yielded in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassability, remaining unchanged.
And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.
Since this heavenly birth cannot be described, neither does His coming amongst us in these days permit of too curious scrutiny. Though I know that a Virgin this day gave birth, and I believe that God was begotten before all time, yet the manner of this generation I have learned to venerate in silence and I accept that this is not to be probed too curiously with wordy speech.
For with God we look not for the order of nature, but rest our faith in the power of Him who works.
What shall I say to you; what shall I tell you? I behold a Mother who has brought forth; I see a Child come to this light by birth. The manner of His conception I cannot comprehend.
Nature here rested, while the Will of God labored. O ineffable grace! The Only Begotten, Who is before all ages, Who cannot be touched or be perceived, Who is simple, without body, has now put on my body, that is visible and liable to corruption. For what reason? That coming amongst us he may teach us, and teaching, lead us by the hand to the things that men cannot see. For since men believe that the eyes are more trustworthy than the ears, they doubt of that which they do not see, and so He has deigned to show Himself in bodily presence, that He may remove all doubt.
Christ, finding the holy body and soul of the Virgin, builds for Himself a living temple, and as He had willed, formed there a man from the Virgin; and, putting Him on, this day came forth; unashamed of the lowliness of our nature.
For it was to Him no lowering to put on what He Himself had made. Let that handiwork be forever glorified, which became the cloak of its own Creator. For as in the first creation of flesh, man could not be made before the clay had come into His hand, so neither could this corruptible body be glorified, until it had first become the garment of its Maker.
What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands. But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness.
For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His spirit; and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit that He may save me.
Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been ¡in planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.
Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He was God. Wherefore He became flesh, so that He Whom heaven did not contain, a manger would this day receive. He was placed in a manger, so that He, by whom all things are nourished, may receive an infants food from His Virgin Mother. So, the Father of all ages, as an infant at the breast, nestles in the virginal arms, that the Magi may more easily see Him. Since this day the Magi too have come, and made a beginning of withstanding tyranny; and the heavens give glory, as the Lord is revealed by a star.
To Him, then, Who out of confusion has wrought a clear path, to Christ, to the Father, and to the Holy Spirit, we offer all praise, now and forever. Amen.
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