By Fr. George Morelli [1]
The promise of the King of the Gentiles and the desired of all
The conversion of pagans is mentioned in the psalms. King David as the obvious prefigure of Christ has the Lord God say to him: “You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” (Ps 2: 7-8) And again David says: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.” (Ps 21:27). The prophet Jeremiah uses the title ‘King of the gentile nations’: “Who would not fear thee, O King of the nations? For this is thy due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like thee.” (Jer 10:7). This newborn babe, will be referenced by Isaiah (Is 28:16) writing “… therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: He who believes will not be in haste.’” Jesus is God, the Son of His Father, of Whom His Father is “well pleased” (Mt 3:17), and this confirmed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls Himself the Cornerstone. St. Matthew (21:42) records “Jesus said to them [about Himself], “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
As King both of the Chosen People and the Gentiles, Jesus will be the cornerstone uniting all. St. Paul tells the Ephesians (2: 11-14): “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, …remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility…” What better way to break down the barriers of man made divisions than to recall the words of St. Paul to the Galatians (3: 27-29): “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female [iv]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
Do we see the Gospel applies to all around us? Do we reflect Christ is King of all and He invites all mankind for Him to be the object of their desire? The person lowest in terms of social, economic or social stature, the person we see whom we are tempted to see as most despised, is very person the Christ-child was born for. It is just this person the Father wants to know that Jesus is His Son, the truth of which the Holy Spirit confirmed. This is an invitation to all of us, who claim to be “followers of Christ” to the heal nations and peoples, the lowliest and most infirm of mankind.
A little personal test: Is there any individual, a member of a language group, nation, race, lifestyle, handicapped, religion, sex, occupation, income, color or appearance, we love differently from the person who we can identify we love most? Love means we would desire and work toward the ‘good and welfare’ of all mankind. (This means all those mentioned above). Love means we want God indwelling in them. Love means we care and would work for their spiritual, psychological and physical welfare. In practice this means in emulation of Christ-God, we are all ‘good Samaritans.’ An example relevant to the geographic region I reside, the Southwestern United States: it would make no difference whether a person comes from north or south of the United States border, if a person needs education, employment, food, health care, I would be the ‘good Samaritan’: “But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’” (Lk 10: 33-35). Let us all remember the next words of Jesus recorded by St. Luke (10:37): And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” If we do not agree with these words of Jesus and practice this love, then the following words of Our Lord apply to us: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith … You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?” (Mt 23:23, 33). This is the true meaning of the Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, the lover and healer of mankind.
The promise of Emmanuel, that is “God with us”
Finally, we can reflect on the God’s promise told to us by Isaiah the Prophet (7:14-15): “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.”
St. Matthew writing after he was called to be an apostle and enlightened by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, knowing the significance of the Theophany, knowing the true meaning of “all those things which have come to pass for us: the Cross, the Grave, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into heaven, the Session at the right hand, and the second and glorious Advent” [v] would write almost the exact words of Isaiah quoted above: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). (Mt 1:23). We know that the one who fulfill the promises and titles of the Old Testament is none other than God Himself. His mission is to “save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1: 21). He will do this not as just as a man. He will come to us as God-man. Indeed St. Paul ends his first epistle to the Corinthians (16:22) by praying: “Our Lord, come!”
The meaning of ‘God with us’ for us
Here is a personal prayer applicable to each one of us as individuals. We ask God to ‘abide with us’. Isaiah, (33:22) told us He would be Judge, Lawgiver and King: “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us.” We know this Lord, is God, Himself. He revealed Himself to us at the Theophany. At Orthros we pray: “God is the Lord Who hath shown us light. Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord.” If He is to fulfill these titles, we have a corresponding obligation. If the Christ was “born in a cavern and lay in a manger for our salvation” is our Lawgiver, we are to accept and obey His Law. If this child is King, we are to accord him obedience, submission and worship.
St. Matthew (8:17) tells us: “This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” If He is the physician of our souls, so too, we are to be His instruments of healing ourselves and those around us. The healing ministry of the Church, the “Church as hospital” (Morelli, 2006; Vlachos, 1994, 1998) is none other than the ministry of Christ, Himself. The obligation we have to heal ourselves and those around us, is none other than doing what Christ Himself, who was revealed to us as God, by His own Father’s word and confirmed by the Holy Spirit came on earth to accomplish. Healing is our obligation and ministry.
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master;” (Mt 10:24)
~Father George Morelli, “The Theophany and Healing,” Website of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of America, http://www.antiochian.org/node/18687.
[iv] A proper understanding of male-female according to the Mind of the Church is critical in understanding this passage. St. Paul’s teachings: ‘no differences between male-female’ has always been understood by the Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit from the day of Pentecost, to mean equality for males and females to attain holiness, sanctification and deification. Theosis is open to both sexes. God revealed Himself as: Father and Jesus as: Son. This is not of human origin, but Divine. Thus, the Father who begets is what He is because of His Son, though not in second place after Him. How does St. John of Damascus view the icon of the Theotokos, the God-bearer, the carrier and nurturer of her Son? St. John describes her image as one appropriate as the container and bearer of ‘The Word’. Thus in the mystery of God, He uses our sex differences to reveal Himself to us. This is why “Sex” is different from “Gender.” (In my view, gender differences should be eliminated, sex differences cannot be eliminated. Equal pay for equal work, secular professions are gender differences and should be open to both sexes, etc.) Gender differences are man-made and socio-culturally defined. Sex differences, however, are by Divine creation and related to how God revealed Himself to mankind. Secularists want to eliminate the scientific term: sex differences. The secularist-feminist agenda considers all differences between male and female as gender differences, and thus capable of re-definition. Mary, the Theotokos, (God-bearer) is “More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim.” Mankind’s sex difference roles are, as said before, by Divine origin. For example, males are fathers, females are mothers. Christ, incarnate in the male sex is the one high priest, the male priest His is His only appropriate and allowable icon. This is unchangeable. This is the essential teaching the Holy Spirit inspired Orthodox Church has passed on to us.
[v] From the Anaphora of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
REFERENCES
Morelli, G. (2006, December 21). The Ethos of Orthodox Christian Healing.http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/MorelliHealing.php [2].
Morelli, G. (2007 January 12). A Theophany Within. http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles7/MorelliTheophany.php [3]
Parsch, P. (1962). The Church’s Year of Grace. (Vol. 1). Collegeville, MI: The Liturgical Press.
St. Gregory Palamas, (2008). The saving work of Christ (C. Veniamin, Ed.). Waymart, PA: Mount Thabor Publishing.
St. Theophylact. (2004). The explanation by Blessed Theophylact of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. House Springs, MO: Chrysostom Press.
Vlachos, Bishop Hierotheos, (1994). Orthodox Psychotherapy: The Science of the Fathers. Lavadia, Greece: Birth of the Theotokos Monastery.
Vlachos, Bishop Hierotheos, (1998). The Mind of the Orthodox Church. Lavadia, Greece: Birth of the Theotokos Monastery.
