Beloved brethren in Christ,
Christ is born, Glorify him!
With joy and gratitude, I congratulate and celebrate with you this holy feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today, heaven and earth unite in celebration as we behold the great mystery of our salvation—the eternal Word of God becoming flesh and dwelling among us.
In the humble cave of Bethlehem, the Light of the world shines forth, dispelling the darkness of sin and death. The angels sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14). This divine peace, born in the humility of the manger, invites us to open our hearts and receive Christ with faith, hope, and love.
As we gather in our Temples and homes during this holy season, let us reflect on the profound message of the Incarnation. God, in His boundless love, chose to share in our humanity so that we might share in His divinity. He calls each of us to become living witnesses of His truth, mercy, and compassion in a world longing for hope and healing.
The birth of Christ and His presence on earth is not simply the beginning of the restoration of the disobedience of the first created beings, which led them out of Paradise, but also the restoration of man’s fellowship with God again. Athanasius the Great tells us that after the original sin, a simple apology from the first created beings was not enough to correct the mistake.
That is, even if Adam and Eve had asked God for forgiveness, the incarnation of the Son and Word of God would still have been necessary to restore the broken society. It may have required less time, but Christ still had to be born. This is because beyond the forgiveness from God, which we could say that as a benefactor He had given to man on His own, man himself had to move in the direction of God, to discover Him again, beyond and behind the human passions and vices that overshadow the human heart.
This is the greatest meaning of the birth of Christ. A new man, alien from the wickedness of the world, alien from all sin, perfect in every way, born in a way not normal but created by God, from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, comes into the world to lead every man on the path of return to the love and communion of God. And as true God from true God, to teach us the Truth, the Life, the will of God, the love, the reconciliation and reconciliation not only of God with man but also of men among themselves.
The incarnation of God is the greatest event in world history. God, the creator of all visible and invisible beings, is inaccessible and incomprehensible to his creatures. He, since he created and sustains them, knows them well, while they, as created beings, cannot understand the uncreated God. They only know what He reveals to them in various ways, just as they can also perceive His wisdom and greatness through His creations.
This almighty God becomes man, assumes created human nature and lives in human society. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” as the disciple of love, John, writes in the fourth Gospel. With His action, the God-man Lord gives people His divine attributes and makes them gods by grace. This gift will naturally be accepted by those who believe in Him and love Him.
Therefore dear brethren, may the birth of Christ be the key to the cleansing of the future in our conduct, in our walks of life, and our actions especially in this age full of selfishness, full of war, full of hatred, full of unwillingness, crumbling economy, families breaking up every day because all of these are some of the signs that we have strayed from the straight path that our Lord has always set for us to walk in so I humbly pray that this year’s nativity celebrations will cultivate in our repentance, humility and also understanding that everything we are here on earth is from Him, our Master.
Let us honor His birth by imitating His humility and generosity. Remember the poor, the sick, the lonely, and the oppressed, for in serving them, we serve Christ Himself. St. John Chrysostom reminds us, “What greater honor can there be than to be the hand of Christ, extended to the needy?”
Let us open our hearts and rejoice in His coming, just as some in Bethlehem recognized the face of the newborn Christ, the King of creation, and worshiped Him, giving Him symbolic gifts. Let us also bestow our hearts, lives, existence, and souls to our newborn King. Amen.
With paternal love and blessings, I wish you all a blessed Nativity and a New Year filled with God’s grace.
+ Bishop Nektarios Kabuye
Holy Diocese of Gulu and Northern Uganda