The Nativity
“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 implanted 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 infant’s 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.”
-St. John Chrysostom, Nativity Sermon
Slavery has ended, the devil confounded, demons take flight, the power of death is broken, Paradise is unlocked. There is no better news. Because the God-man broke into His own Creation, there is hope for every single person. Hope that transforms our brokenness and redefines our ontology. It’s appropriate to think: this is the complete opposite of what I see, what I experience in Kalispell and the Flathead. Death and the devil appear empowered and not in flight. The apathy, despair, and fear I struggle with are intact and not broken apart.
The beauty of the Nativity of Christ is that since He became Truth as a person (not a concept or an ideology), suffering can have meaning. Your suffering can have meaning. By Christ’s incarnation, He literally transmutes our suffering from our own wills and timing into His will and His timing. Christ and thus Truth itself lives and can be experienced from outside ourselves and not from within.
My brothers and sisters, salvation is here! He comes in humility and from the humility of the Virgin who gave the living God what He would never take without consent, human form.
You are not too far gone. You are not beyond redemption. The suffering we endure in this life may have meaning when it is through Christ. As we celebrate the Nativity, look to the Christ child, the beginning of the Incarnation that defeats death, brings humanity to heaven, and redeems the deepest longing of our souls.
On behalf of Drew, myself, and the other 7 Braveheart chaplains, may God bless you. Please reach out to us during this season if we may be of any help to you.
Chris Messenger
