Landmarks of the Spiritual Road – The Nativity: A Joyful Tidings
Landmarks of the Spiritual Road
The Nativity: A Joyful Tidings (1)
I congratulate you all on the beginning of a new year… I ask God that it may be a happy and blessed year for you, for our beloved country, and for the whole world…
We want it to be a year in which the ongoing wars lessen or end, a year in which famines vanish from all the earth, in which goodness and blessing spread, a year in which love and peace prevail among people… and all live in security and tranquility, indeed in affection and brotherhood.
And I also congratulate you on the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ—glory be to Him—and on the deep meanings that the feast contains.
The Tidings of Joy
The birth of Christ was the glad tidings of salvation for all. It was the first step toward this salvation that was completed through redemption. Therefore Simeon the Elder said: “Now, Lord, You are letting Your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation” (Lk 2:29–30).
And at His birth the angel carried the tidings of joy, saying to the shepherds: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people: for there is born to you this day… a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:10–11).
The entire message of Christianity is centered in this phrase spoken by the angel to the shepherds: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”
Christianity is joyful tidings for all people. Even the word “Gospel” means “good news,” joyful tidings that carry to people a joyful message of salvation.
The joyful tidings were the work of the Lord Christ, and the work of John the Baptist, and the work of the apostles, the prophets, and the shepherds… And the Lord Christ said in His joyful proclamation: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind… to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord… to comfort all who mourn, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning” (Is 61:1–3; Lk 4:18–19).
Thus the work of all clergymen became to fulfill the mission of Christ in proclaiming this joy: to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to those in bondage… Indeed this is the work of every servant and every loving heart—that he should work like Christ… comforting those who mourn and gladdening broken hearts, carrying to all the joyful tidings of salvation…
He calls out to all, saying: Behold, Christ has come to bear your sins, to pay your debts, to break the gates of Hades, and to open the gates of Paradise. And He says to all His comforting words: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).
Behold, Christ has come “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Mt 18:11), saying in joyful tidings: “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (Jn 12:47). He also said to the sinful woman: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (Jn 8:11).
Christ came to seek the lost sheep and carry it on His shoulders rejoicing (Lk 15:5). And He came to give good tidings to the chief tax collector, saying: “Today salvation has come to this house” (Lk 19:9). He came to say to the crucified thief: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43). And He says to the foreign nations that they “will come from the east and the west and sit down in the kingdom of God” (Lk 13:29). Christ came to present a religion of joy to people.
And the apostle says: “Rejoice in the Lord always… again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil 4:4)…
And in the midst of the apostle’s tribulations with his fellow servants, he says: “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor 6:10).
And the Lord Christ says: “I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you” (Jn 16:22).
And Scripture offers us joy as one of the fruits of the Spirit in the heart. The apostle says: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” (Gal 5:22). Therefore whoever’s heart is empty of joy and peace is empty of the work of the Spirit.
Joy in the Coming of Christ
Scripture explained the joy that filled the world at the coming of Christ. People’s joy appeared in the hymn of the angels: “and on earth peace, goodwill toward men”—that is, joy… People rejoiced because Christ proclaimed liberty to the captives and protected them from the bondage of Satan and his bitter slavery. Thus the Lord said: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Lk 10:18).
Thus ended the authority of Satan as ruler of this world, and the Lord said concerning him: “The ruler of this world is judged” (Jn 16:11). And people rejoiced when they were freed from his captivity, and the Lord said to them: “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (Jn 8:36).
The whole earth became the Lord’s and His Christ’s, and the Lord has reigned…
Simeon the Elder rejoiced and exulted because he saw salvation. The angels rejoiced, sang, and proclaimed joy to the people. Elizabeth, the barren woman who did not give birth, rejoiced when she bore the greatest born of women. And the whole earth rejoiced because Christ came to reconcile the earthly with the heavenly and to make both one, breaking down the middle wall of separation, washing people from their sins until their hearts became whiter than snow.
Let us have at the beginning of the year this optimistic outlook. Let us also have in the Feast of the Nativity joy in salvation like the joy of Simeon. And let us say with Isaiah the prophet: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things” (Is 52:7).
Let us all rejoice in the Nativity of Christ and proclaim joy to all people… Let our joy be spiritual, filled with hope… hope in God and in His work… for He is “the Helper of the helpless, and the Hope of the hopeless.” Spread joy and hope among people.
But he who always foretells evil and darkens everything bright is like the owl that hoots as a herald of ruin… and cannot have the voice of God. But the children of God— their words are filled with comfort, their encouragement full of hope. They offer a key for every closed door, send a ray into every dark place, plant hope in the hearts of people, and teach them that there is no despair as long as there is hope that God works…
Joy in Hope
Christ came to give hope to every soul—even to the bruised reed and the smoking flax (Mt 12:20).
The woman with the issue of blood, who had spent all her money on physicians and was benefited nothing, He granted her hope—and even healing—by a single touch… And the sick man at Bethesda, who spent thirty-eight years in his illness and had no one, the Lord made him carry his bed and walk… And Lazarus, who had already decayed in his tomb four days after his death, He raised alive and whole. Thus He said to the people: “All things are possible with God” (Mk 10:27). And He said even more: “All things are possible to him who believes” (Mk 9:23).
Thus people rejoiced in hope, and despair became merely a warfare of the demons by which they try to cast people into a vortex of anxiety and disorder… and of fear and disturbance. But the joyful tidings declare: “Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees” (Heb 12:12). Christ came to offer joy even to sinners.
Joy for Sinners…
Joy that God will grant them repentance and accept them. Thus Scripture says that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Therefore the Lord Christ promised to send us His Holy Spirit, to dwell in us and abide with us forever (Jn 16), and to send us His grace working in everyone.
For this reason I wonder at those whom gloom possesses even in religious settings, and who put before themselves only the virtue of tears. And if they do not find them, they force themselves into them!!
They see religion only as sorrow over falling and gloom over sins, and they see in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation no verse to adopt as their motto except the saying of Ecclesiastes: “By sorrow of the face the heart is made better” (Eccl 7:3). And also “Blessed are those who mourn now,” forgetting its completion: “for they shall be comforted” (Mt 5:4). And they also forget the Lord’s saying: “But your sorrow will be turned into joy” (Jn 16:20).
Weeping over sin is a virtue… but it should not become a lifelong method… For even this same weeping carries within itself comfort and joy; it is not pure gloom.
Therefore rejoice in the salvation that the Lord came to offer the world. Rejoice in the path of repentance that the Lord opened through all the means of grace. Rejoice in the Good Shepherd who continually seeks His sheep… Rejoice in the Lord who said that even “the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Mt 10:30). Not one of them falls without the permission of your Father who has inscribed you on His palm.
Therefore rejoice in the care and protection of God.
Joy in God’s Care…
Rejoice because you have a loving and compassionate God. He loved us before we existed, and for that reason He created us. And He loved us even while we were sinners, and for this He came and saved us. It was said of Him that “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (Jn 13:1). In His love He cared for us, called us His children, called the Church His bride… and gave us a book of Scripture—the Song of Songs—in which He explains His love for us, this love that reached the point of redemption to save us by His blood.
Let us continually realize that there is a great divine power that supports us, wipes every tear from our eyes… and leads us to “joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pt 1:8). And in God’s care for us, He said: “Do not worry”—do not bear anxiety (Mt 6:25).
God is the Giver, the Provider, the Shepherd, the One who satisfies every living thing with His good pleasure. Even the worm that crawls on the earth or under a stone—God sends it its sustenance and cares for it… how much more human beings, His children, His image and likeness?!
Does all this not call for joy? When the Lord Christ’s disciples were troubled in the boat during the stormy sea, thinking He did not care, He rebuked them saying: Why did you doubt, O you of little faith…?!
Therefore rejoice in the Lord… and do not lose your joy no matter what tribulation befalls you, no matter how the world narrows around you.
Joy in Tribulation
Do not separate tribulation from God and His work—for in it He delivers you and cares for you, He who said: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” If a tribulation comes upon you, rejoice greatly, knowing that behind it is a blessing that God will grant you, and behind it a crown that God will place upon your head. Also know that in tribulation you will acquire a spiritual experience, and you will recognize the love of God, and that tribulation will equip you with virtues you would not have obtained otherwise.
Therefore rejoice always, whether you are in abundance or in tribulation.
Know that God does not allow tribulation except for your benefit, and that He does not let it come upon you except within the limits of your endurance, and that He gives with it the way of escape.
Here the peace of the children of God appears, and their good nature—they are not distressed in tribulations nor do they ever lose their peace, but they rejoice in the Lord.
And the Nativity of Christ had many tribulations which Christ endured and also the Virgin Saint endured, and this did not prevent the divine joy of the Nativity. There was no place for them in the inn, so they stayed in a manger. The cold was severe in the depth of winter. There was a forced journey through the mountains of Judea at the time of the census. Then came Herod’s plots to kill Christ, leading to the killing of all the children of Bethlehem, that He might be among them! Thus the Holy Family was forced to travel and be exiled in Egypt.
And because of this tribulation, we received the blessing of the coming of Christ and the Virgin to the land of Egypt, and many places of our land were sanctified, and miracles were performed in them.
Therefore we say that the children of God live in constant joy no matter the circumstances. And here we notice an important point:
The expression “Rejoice” is a command
The phrase “Rejoice in the Lord always” is not merely advice; it is a divine command from our good God who desires joy for us here, just as He desires joy for us in heaven—joy now and at all times and forevermore.
Thus He created man in a garden, and He promises him eternal bliss.
A person can rejoice by remembering God’s joyful promises, which Scripture is filled with, through which God expressed His love for us. Remember these promises and rejoice.
Remember God’s past kindnesses to you, to your loved ones, and to your acquaintances—and rejoice.
Remember God’s purpose in creating you, and what He has prepared for those who love His holy Name, and all the miracles and wonders God has performed with our fathers and with us—then your heart will be filled with faith and joy. But our God did not say only “Rejoice”—He said: “Rejoice in the Lord…”
This points to the fact that our joy is a holy joy, not a worldly, material joy, and that its source is God. This is the joy we should remember and live in the Feast of the Nativity, which God has made a joyful feast for all.
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An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Watani Newspaper on 6–1–1985.
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