“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready
to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason
for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…”
1 Peter 3:15

Beloved in the Lord,

We celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, a feast of great joy, at a time when many of us are filled with anxiety and concern. The attacks in Paris, Roseburg, and San Bernardino have shaken us to the core. Innocent people’s lives were lost over senseless violence, thus making it increasingly difficult to celebrate the beauty of this season when tragedy surrounds us.

It is in this time of great sadness that we must work even harder to find the joy of Christmas. This will take deeper examination – one that looks beyond the lights, the trees, and the wrapping paper – where we find a profound reality that can restore the hope that still resides in our hearts through the message: Christ is Born! The Almighty God has not abandoned us, but instead He sent His only Son into our fractured world. He did this over 2,000 years ago, and still He is with us today, giving us hope for peace and unity.

That hope is also seen in the mystery of the Incarnation, the paradox of the Nativity, where God the transcendent becomes God the immanent. God in the abstract becomes God the person. A tiny baby born in Bethlehem is more than just “a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” (Luke 10:12). He is Christ the Lord, the Son of God, co-eternal with His Father. He is the Son of the Almighty God, filled with power and might, the “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).

Beloved, the birth of Christ is a realization of hope. At the time of the nativity so many centuries ago, the people of Israel hoped for a world of justice and freedom from Roman oppression and tyranny. We celebrate this Christmas at a time when we hope for a world of peace and righteousness, made possible through the birth of Christ that dispels fear and anxiety because we know that “God is with us”.

As we hear the story of the nativity from the Scripture and the hymns of our Church in our parishes in the Divine Services, let us hear the words and allow them to permeate our hearts so that the hope residing within us can overcome the darkness of this age, so that we may sing as the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest”. As we partake of Holy Communion on this great feast let us praise the Almighty God Who has sent His Son to us and gives Himself for our sakes. Let us greet one another with the traditional “Merry Christmas”, but also with the true message of this day, “Christ is Born!”

May hope fill you and your beloved families this Christmas and all the days to come.

With Love in Our Newborn King,

+ G E R A S I M O S

Metropolitan of San Francisco

December 25, 2015

The Nativity of Christ

For unto us a Child is born, and His name will be called…Prince of Peace! (Isaiah 9:6)

To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this blessed Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I greet you in the grace, joy and peace that accompany this unique event.  We celebrate our Lord’s holy Incarnation as a miraculous revelation of God’s grace, and through faith we see the path to redemption, restoration, and life without end.  Our hearts are filled with joy, for our hope is renewed in the fulfillment of His divine promise to save us and be with us.  We also experience the peace of God, which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), as our hearts and minds are filled with the transforming presence of Christ.

He has come to us as the Prince of Peace, offering a divine peace that is much greater than any comfort or security offered in this world.  It is a peace that is available to all humanity, regardless of current challenges, threats, living conditions or stage of life.  It is a peace that cannot be disturbed by the violence and insecurities of this broken world, for its origin is the God of peace, and it is sustained by His abundant grace.

In our celebration of the Feast of the Nativity, we acknowledge the power of the peace of God in several ways.  In our Great Vespers service we read the prophecies of Isaiah regarding the Incarnation of Christ, affirming the biblical revelation that His peace restores a created order that has been burdened by sin, violence and death.  The Prophet states that He comes with wisdom, understanding, and righteousness, bringing a peace by which the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them(Isaiah 11:6).  These images reveal that the presence and peace of our Lord restores the relationships of creation to what God intended them to be.  Through the power of the Incarnation, we are given a glimpse of life to come and how it will be when the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord (Isaiah 11:9).

As the Prince of Peace our Lord also brings to us peace through justice.  In the same passage from Isaiah we read with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and reprove with equity the meek of the earth (Isaiah 11:4). Those who struggle without security—the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the refugee, the orphan, the sick—they can find peace in the midst of their challenges and afflictions.  In Christ, we have peace through justice and justice through peace, as He offers salvation to all.  His Incarnation is the seal of that promise.

Justice and righteousness as a foundation of divine and enduring peace shows a clear distinction between the spiritual peace granted by God and the temporal peace we often experience.  In the world around us, peace is maintained through the use of force or the ability to use it when necessary.  The priority of the rule of law is affirmed, with an emphasis on punishment or consequences for disrupting public order.  Peace is also linked to economic stability and thwarting the chaos that could ensue if systems failed.  All of these concepts of peace are important in our lives, but they are very limited.  The peace of God that is revealed by Christ is a peace that we can have no matter the conditions of life, society, or level of security.  It is a peace that comes through faith as we trust in the promises of God.  As we see in Christ and in the lives of many Saints, it is a peace that stands in the face of great adversity, that is not dependent on any temporal security of life, status or property, but is strengthened by the hope we have in the grace of God.

As we celebrate this Feast of the Nativity in the presence of our Incarnate Lord, and we reflect on the significance of His birth and the revelation of God’s grace, may your hearts and minds be filled with His peace.  Let this peace surround us as we deepen our faith in Christ, seek transformation by His grace, and commit all of our life to Him.  In addition, as we proclaim “Christ is born, Glorify Him,” may we offer a witness of the peace that comes from above, revealing the love of God through our Lord’s Incarnation to all the world.

With paternal love in Christ,

†DEMETRIOS

Archbishop of America