Christ for All

Christ came for the whole world and bore the sins of the whole world. He opened His heart to all and satisfied every living being with His goodness. This love which He showed to all appears very clearly in the story of the Nativity.

For we find the atmosphere surrounded by a group of saints of every kind and every color…

In the events of Christ’s birth, we see a large group of saints, men and women, of various types, indicating the Lord’s embrace of all…

Among them are the small child like John the Baptist, the young maiden in the bloom of youth like the Virgin Mary, and the elderly advanced in age such as Zechariah the priest, Joseph the carpenter, Elizabeth, and Anna the prophetess. And among them also is the aged, ancient of days, Simeon the elder…

And just as they differed in age, their roles also varied…

Among them were priests like Zechariah, laypeople like Joseph the carpenter and the shepherds, prophets like Anna, scholars of the Law like Simeon, and astronomers like the Magi.

Among them were the virgin, the married, and the widowed, so that each of these groups might feel that they have a share in the Lord…

The Virgin Mary and John the Baptist were virgins; Zechariah and Elizabeth were married; Anna and Simeon the elder were widowed. And each of these—whether virgin, married, or widowed—had a share in Christ…

And among them we find the rich such as the Magi, and the poor such as Joseph the carpenter. We also find the Jews as well as the Gentiles (the Magi).

We also find that the life of work and the life of solitude came together at the time of Christ’s birth. The Virgin Mary represented the life of solitude and contemplation, as she was raised in the temple. Likewise Anna the prophetess, who spent decades in the temple worshiping with fasting and prayers. Work was represented in Joseph the carpenter, and the life of service was represented in Zechariah the priest.

Thus, we see that in His birth, Christ embraced saints from the life of work and service, as well as from the life of solitude and contemplation.

In the Nativity story, we find that people of all groups were called by the Lord to share in the joy of His birth.

We find the priest and the layperson, the ascetic worshiper and the servant, the Jew and the Gentile, the old and the young, the man and the woman, the virgin, the married, and the widowed.

All, in their diversity, were called by Christ, because He came for all…

All met Christ… some met Him in their youth, and others met Him in their old age. A person like Simeon the elder met Him after more than 200 years.

Perhaps the most astonishing among them is John the Baptist, who met Christ while still a fetus in his mother’s womb…

The story of the Nativity gives us hope that every person—no matter his condition—can have a share in Christ.

There is hope even for the barren who did not bear children, like Elizabeth… These are wondrous encounters, of relatives and strangers. Is not Christ the One who calls all to salvation? He opened doors for all.

He sanctified all and opened before everyone doors of hope.

He sanctified our human nature… He sanctified this human body.

Some think that the body is sin, or the cause of every sin.

If the body were sin, Christ would not have taken a body.

Christ sanctified the body when He united with our human nature, and sanctified the body when the Holy Spirit dwelt in the body of the Virgin and sanctified it to be worthy of divine indwelling.

And just as He sanctified our bodies, He also sanctified our souls…

He also sanctified all stages of life when He passed through them in perfection.

He gave us the good example for the child when He was a child, and the good example for the youth, the young man, and the adult when He passed through those ages.

He sanctified marriage when He attended the wedding of Cana of Galilee.

He sanctified the earth which had been cursed before…

He sanctified the sea when He walked on it. He sanctified the mountain when He was transfigured upon it, when He delivered His sermon upon it, and when He would withdraw there and spend the whole night in prayer. He sanctified the fields which were the setting of His contemplations, and the lake by whose shore He sat…

He sanctified our land, Egypt, when He visited it and performed His miracles there… He sanctified the whole human life, even what is in it of eating and fasting.

He sanctified fasting when He fasted for us, and sanctified eating as it was said, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking.” He sanctified work when He labored in the carpenter’s house. He sanctified even sleep when He slept. He sanctified money when He blessed the widow’s two mites, and when He had a money box…

He blessed all classes of people, even the despised among them…

He blessed children when He said, “Let the little children come to Me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven,” and also when He said, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

And as He blessed children, He also blessed women and their service…

Christ accepted that many women should serve Him and follow Him from Galilee. He entered the house of Mary and Martha. He called Mary Magdalene, who had seven demons, and made her one of His disciples. He blessed the sinful woman who poured ointment on His feet and said that she loved much.

The Lord Christ gave a moral spirit to every person regardless of his status, and He was hope and encouragement for all.

Matthew the tax collector, sitting at the tax office, had a share in Christ, and even became one of His apostles and the writer of His Gospel. Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, an example of ظلم and extortion, the Lord said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house.” And the Gentile centurion, about whom He said, “I have not found such great faith, not even in all Israel.”

The woman who poured ointment on His feet, whom people rebuked, He defended her and said to them, “Do not trouble the woman, for she has done a good work for Me.”

This phrase, “Do not trouble the woman,” carries comfort for every woman…

Christ also had a quiet, decisive meeting with the Samaritan woman, through which she was transformed into another person. Likewise, He defended the sinful woman caught in the very act and said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go in peace.”

Also, those who were psychologically and spiritually weak had a share in Christ…

That great man who was afraid and did not dare speak with Him openly, for fear of the Jews—Nicodemus—Christ met him at night and in secret, accommodating his fear, and worked with him until He led him to faith.

Peter the impulsive and hasty, He called to apostleship. He also called Thomas the doubter, and Mark the young man who fled naked…

Even tax collectors and sinners, He would sit with them and attend their feasts, making them feel that He belonged to them more than to others, because He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The woman with the issue of blood, whom some considered unclean, He allowed her to touch His garments and receive from Him blessing and healing.

And the sick man who had no one to put him into the pool—Christ was his helper who healed him.

Every person felt that he had a share in Christ.

He came to save all, and made no one feel deprived of Him…

Including the Pharisees who wanted to trap Him with a word.

He visited the house of the Pharisee, reclined there, ate, and spoke with him.

Christ was a great heart, going about doing good and satisfying every living being with His goodness. His heart was open to all—every person, whatever his type, age, social condition, culture, or ignorance.

Even Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the Church, had a share in care—not only for faith, but also for apostleship.

Also, the Roman soldier who pierced Him with the spear—He granted him not only to believe, but also to become a martyr.

All who met Him, He gave them from His grace and His blessing. He loved the world—the whole world, not a specific group.

He chose the foolish of the world, chose an educated physician and skilled artist like Luke, and chose a widely learned philosopher like Saul.

The weary and heavy-laden found their rest in Him. The sick found their healing in Him. Those possessed by demons also had a share in Him—He cast out the demons from them.

He despised no one and neglected no one. He was for all, including the despised and the nonexistent… even the one cast out of the synagogue, like the man born blind, found in Christ a heart that accepted him and had compassion on him…

Those who worked with the stars, He did not reject, but received them and showed them a heavenly power in a wondrous star that led them to the manger and to faith.

He is the Christ in whom all the families of the earth are blessed. He is the love that came into the world to be in every heart. Through His humility, gentleness, love, compassion, and knowledge of human nature, He was able to bless all natures, win all, and pray even for those who crucified Him…

He became salvation for all, hope for those who have no hope, a helper for those who have no helper, comfort for the faint-hearted, and a harbor for those in the storm. To Him is all glory and all love forever. Amen.

An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in El-Keraza Magazine – Year Eight (Issue Three), 21-1-1977.

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