+ Monday,
December 25th 2006 +
Feast of the Nativity of Christ
(Christmas)
+
*******************************************************************************************************
‘Christ is
Born! Glorify Him!’
“Christ is born, glorify Him. Christ
has come from the Heavens, receive Him. Christ is on earth, elevate Him. Sing
unto the Lord, all the earth; and ye nations, praise Him with joy; for He has
been glorified.”
+ The
Epistle +
Verse: Let all the earth worship Thee, and sing to Thee,
Shout with joy to God,
all the earth.
The Reading is from
the Letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Galatians
(Chapter
4:4-7)
Brethern, when the fullness of the time had
come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those
who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because
you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying
out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a
son, then an heir of God through Christ.
+ The
Holy Gospel +
(Chapter 2:1-12)
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His
star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the
chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the
Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it
is written by the prophet: ‘ But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not
the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will
shepherd My people Israel.’” Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise
men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to
Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you
have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had
seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young
Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His
mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their
treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then,
being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they
departed for their own country another way.
* Announcements
& Activities *
“It is good to be Zealous in a Good Thing
Always…” (Galatians 4:18)
Ø
Saturday, December 30th, 2006: Great Vespers at
6:00 p.m. (as usual)
Ø
Sunday, December 31st, 2006: Sunday before Holy
Theophany; (Sunday Service as usual.)
Ø
Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ &
Feast of St. Basil the Great on Monday, January 1st,2007; Matins at 9:45
a.m. & Divine Liturgy of St. Basil at 11:00 a.m.
Ø
Feast of Holy Theophany
Keep
Christ in ‘Christ’mas
The reason for the Nativity or Christmas
season is obviously the celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. It
is a truly holy season, but not just another ‘holiday’, and not just a typical
‘season’. It is the birth of the One who saved the entire world from eternal
condemnation, and brought us everlasting life through His resurrection. If He
is so important, why do we forget about Him and become ashamed of Him and deny
Him during the season of His birth? Why should we be afraid of saying ‘Merry
Christmas’? Is December 25th still not called Christmas Day, even on
the civil calendar? Why do we listen and adhere to those who hate Christ and
His Church, and train ourselves to say to one another ‘Season’s Greetings’ or ‘Happy
Holidays’? Why do we deny Him before others? As Orthodox Christians, we have
the duty of properly addressing the Feast of our Savior’s Nativity. We might
not be able to influence all the other Christians who have already submitted to
today’s ‘Anti-Christian’ society and removed Christ from their feast, however,
we can still defend our right to wish others a Merry Christmas freely, and
celebrate His Nativity freely, and not have to consider and worry about being
attacked. You can ask yourself this: Why is it only Christ that seems to be a
forbidden topic for people to celebrate? However, blasphemies are made into
comedies, and Christ is dragged through the mud and people pay a lot of money
to see it? And when other religions are celebrating their feast days, the whole
country has to be informed and reminded about political correctness and
respecting others. And if these other religions are just mentioned sometime in
a questionable way, all of a sudden the whole world is up in arms over nothing.
And who is it that is not defending Christ? ... Christians are not
defending Christ! Christ is not defended by violence, but by truly representing
Him on earth, living up to the name ‘Christian’, being a good example to others
and not being ashamed of Him. Make a difference this year to God, yourself, and
the world, and say “Merry Christmas!”; say “Christ is Born! Glorify Him!”; say
“Have a Blessed Feast of the Nativity!” When someone says to you ‘Happy
Holidays, reply: “Merry Christmas”! Remind them that it is your Feast too.
Testify the Truth of Christmas and do not hide Christ from the people. Have a Merry Christmas!
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be
ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the Holy Angels” (St. Mark 8:38)
“Celebrating with you
the birth of Christ our Lord,
and wishing that He
guides you and stands by you
in all that you do.
May the Nativity of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
bring you and your loved ones Peace, Joy
& Love.”
Merry Christmas &
Happy New Year!
Fr. Ghattas, Fr. Mark, Fr. Daniel
& Families