To the Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America,
My Beloved Children in the Lord,
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Let the celestial flames burn quietly and gaze in awe upon a humble corner of the universe, upon the dark earth, and upon the most treasured portion of that corner—the grotto where God is born.
– St. Nikolai Velimirovic, Prayers by the Lake 49
Today marks the radiant and splendid yet secret and humble fulfillment of a season spent in quiet anticipation. Unlike Great Lent, when we sound the trumpets to announce a fast (Joel 2:15), the forty days of the Nativity Fast are observed quietly, enveloped in the night—just as the shepherds once did while watching over their flocks (Lk. 2:8). In this darkness, the shadow of the Law (Heb. 10:1), we kept company with the holy prophets—Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Daniel, and the Three Holy Children. We first heard the melodies celebrating Christ’s Nativity on November 21, during the katavasiae at the canon. On St. Andrew’s Day and St. Nicholas Day, hymns echoed the arrival of Him who is to come. Our anticipation grew during the forefeast, culminating with the Vesperal Liturgy and Vigil of Christmas Eve.
Now, upon us who spent those forty days in profound darkness, an even greater Light has emerged (Is. 9:2). Our Hope has come; our Expectation is fulfilled.
The one we awaited in darkness and silence is now revealed to us in that same dark and silence—the dark and cold of midnight, in the pitch-black night of our sin, within the deep recess of the cave, housed in the trough of the manger. Yet, despite the surrounding darkness, He shines as a clear, pure, and innocent Light. Amidst the pressing silence, His very presence—the Word, the Word that was in the beginning (Jn. 1:1)—is revealed.
He is the Light shining forth from the Father; He is the Father’s Word to humankind. He is the fulfillment, source, and sustenance of all our hopes.
His light embodies purity, unearthly love, and generosity. His word brings peace—not the duplicitous and shallow understanding of peace found in the world (Jn. 14:27), but true peace—peace with God, the peace of the Cross. And His hope, unimaginable to those centered on earthly desires, reveals a kind of life not found in this world: a life devoted entirely to the Other, to God—dismissing passing pleasures and transient achievements in favor of self-giving communion and self-emptying love.
The birth of this holy Infant, our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ—the Light, Word, and Peace of God—occurs not only in a stone cave: it takes place also within the soul of each believer. To become worthy vessels for this hidden light, we have spent forty days preparing, and today, Christ is born unto us; unto us a Child is given (Is. 9:6). And in Him, all our hopes are fulfilled. The One born of the Virgin speaks to us through a prayer of St. Nikolai Velimirovic from Prayers by the Lake:
I am thy tomorrow, from today until the end of time. Everything good that thou hast been expecting from the days of tomorrow is within me. Today, thy tomorrow is fulfilled in me. And no day, from now until the last day, will bring thee what I am bringing thee. Lo, I am the day that has no beginning and no end.
I am the treasury of every future that exists and I am the way to that treasury. The future in its entirety cannot give thee so much as a kernel of good, unless it borrows from me.
Thus, with His Nativity—in Bethlehem and in our hearts—Christ brings with Him all goodness and all blessings.
However, in another sense, we continue to wait: our entire lives are a period of Advent, a time of watching for the coming of Christ. Although He is born within our souls in a hidden manner in this age, we eagerly anticipate a full and definitive revelation of His unfathomable splendor in the age to come, when the chosen ones will shine as vessels of His eternal presence forever. Consequently, our lives embody a joyful waiting, anticipating the fullness of the Joy that we already partially know.
“Hopelessness remains stagnant. But my hope cleans and purifies continually; it refreshes and sanctifies the spaces where it will receive Thee,” remarks St. Nikolai in another of his prayers. The greatest expression of this anticipation is indeed prayer itself. As St. Nikolai articulates: “Prayer is necessary for me lest I lose sight of the salvation-bearing star, but the star does not need it to keep from losing me.” Moreover, prayer is not just an expression of expectation, longing, and hope; it is also the means of actualizing those expectations. The more we pray, the more we open ourselves to the divine energies, to communion with the Divine; hence, our expectations are fulfilled even in this life.
Therefore, as we commemorate the Nativity of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, let us gather in spirit around His crib and pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, who art everywhere present and fillest all things, come and make Thy presence known in us.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, born of the Virgin for our salvation, come and be born anew in our hearts.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, dwelling in our hearts through Thy holy Mysteries, come and abide with us forever.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Child given unto Thy faithful, who art with Thy Church always, even unto the end of the age, make us to be worthy dwelling places for Thee in the ages to come, when Thou, together with Thy Father and Thine All-Holy Spirit, shalt dwell in Thine elect as Light and Peace unto the ages of ages. Amen.
With my blessing and prayers for all of you on this most joyous feast,
Sincerely yours in the newborn Christ,
Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and CanadaTikhon, Metropolitan of All America and Canada
