“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning…The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen His glory” (John 1:1-2,14)
Think of Christmas, and Bethlehem comes to mind. The image of the Nativity of little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay so familiar from the cards depicting the Holy Family in the manger scene is so poignant that it draws even the formerly faithful and non-believers to celebrate the birth of the Christ child with us, or at least to affirm what it portrays as a tribute to family values. I would invite the Orthodox Christians to expand their understanding of that world-changing event by gazing on another icon depicting an alternative location—a place that is no place at all, but a conception of a momentous decision. The three Persons of the Holy Trinity in an eternal contemplation, considering what would bring about the salvation of human beings. That event leading to the entry into the world and history of the Son of God.
Much is said, written and preached about the true meaning of Christmas, yet the answer cannot be found by human thought alone. This is a great mystery concerning the Incarnation—the coming to earth of divinity, specifically the only-begotten Son of God and taking on the body, mind and soul of a human being. As in the gospel of John above: “The Word became flesh…” To make a start at enlightenment of that profound mystery, one could stand before another icon, the Hospitality of Abraham, depicting in symbols the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity as angels visiting the great prophet at Beersheba. The genius and artist now Saint Andrei Rublev presents the Holy Trinity around a table, and in the center is a cup red with blood, sometimes with the sacrificed “fatted calf” in miniature. They are considering the enormous cost of humanity’s salvation. Theirs is a timeless meditation, taking into account the trauma suffered by mankind because of the tragic decision by the first couple to abandon complete trust in divine will and to set out on their confusing and foolhardy dependency on their own will, leaving behind the freedom that comes with God-reliance for a lifetime and subsequent human history of self-reliance.
Gaze long enough at the three figures and one can discern a line from eternity into history and their decision, involving a visit from the Archangel Gabriel to the young virgin in Nazareth and her response to his question, followed by the problems she encountered with her betrothed spouse; then another angelic visitation to Joseph, this time in a dream—actually a series of dreams to that blessed, obedient man. And how did it enter the mind of the Roman emperor to tax his realm, mandating that Joseph and Mary would be forced, despite her pregnancy, to go to their ancestral homeland in order that the prophecy might be fulfilled, that the Messiah would be known as proceeding from David’s lineage; and another prophecy, that He would be born in Bethlehem.
Yet all the seemingly incidental events that Christians know so well from the gospels of Matthew and Luke are but a backdrop to the dogmatic mystery of a member of the Holy Trinity entering time and history to be born as a human being, the very Son of God becoming the Son of man. What does it mean for us? What should it mean? Love, of course—God’s love that we delight in. Love not just as words read from the Holy Scriptures written by prophets, but love embodied, displayed and proved by that same God-Man, Jesus Christ. Now we turn again to the stable in Bethlehem and vow to clean out the debris from the stables of our souls, to get rid of all that is irrelevant for our salvation, to strain at grasping the awesome truth—the divine Christ wants to be born in your heart and my heart. Do we want Him? Enough to welcome Him by prayer, fasting, meditation and great joy? This is what the Nativity lent is about.