The Blessing of the Nativity in Our Lives
What a great blessing it is that the Lord dwelt in our midst.
He through whom all the tribes of the earth were blessed by the blessing of His dwelling, His blessing of our nature, and the blessing of His visitation to us in the last times, and what He offered us of lessons in humility and self-emptying.
The birth of Christ was the beginning of the great salvation that is accomplished through redemption.
Therefore, when Simeon the elder carried Him, he said in joy, as all his hopes had been fulfilled: “Now, Lord, You are letting Your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before all peoples…”
In the Nativity of Christ, we also received the blessing of reconciliation.
Reconciliation between the heavenly and the earthly… Thus we find that the story of the Nativity is accompanied by many appearances of angels, who proclaim to البشر, speak to them, and bring them joyful news: “We bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people…”
Among the blessings of the Nativity is that we saw the true divine image.
We were created in the image and likeness of God. But through sin, we lost the divine image in whose likeness we were created. So the Lord came to restore to us this image, to restore to us the example which, if we follow, we return to our former glory.
Among the blessings of the Nativity is that we saw the love of God clearly and incarnately.
God revealed His love to mankind, a love beyond expression. He lived among them, granted them of His compassion and tenderness, and went about among them doing good. He made them recline at His table, and even lean on His bosom… And He said to them: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Thus their knowledge of God became experiential, so they said: “That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled” (1 John 1:1).
We cannot count the blessings of the Nativity in our lives,
For through it humanity was born again and received another life after death, so that the history of the world came to be divided into two main parts: before the Nativity and after the Nativity…
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – Al-Keraza Magazine – Year Eight (Issue One) 7-1-1977
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