Sunday before the Nativity of Christ – Sunday of the Holy Fathers; the Holy Priest-Martyr Ignatius the Godbearer (110)
Hebrews 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40; Matthew 1:1-25
Nativity Fast.
Read Hebrews 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40
Starting tomorrow night, if you look up into the southwestern horizon after sunset you will see an occurrence which hasn’t happened for 400 years. Saturn and Jupiter will come so close in their orbits that they will appear to us to be one single star. This “great conjunction” wasn’t visible to sky-watchers the last time because of its location in the sky, so we will be able to join those who witnessed this “Christmas Star” last seen in 1226! We sing at the Troprarion of the Nativity that “those who worshipped the stars were taught by a star to worship You [Christ] the Sun of Righteousness…to know You, the Dawn from on high.” The Wisemen left the wisdom of the world to learn the name of Wisdom Himself and therefore became truly wise themselves.
When our Lord came to Abraham with the promises of descendants, land and a worldwide blessing in his name, he took Abraham out to look at the night sky and asked him to number the stars. His descendants would be that numerous, even though both he and his wife were past their fertile years. This what caused Abraham to leave the comfort of his established community and family and travel to the “land of promise”- faith! Abraham knew that God’s promises to him were backed up by the power of creating the world and filling the cosmos with stars. This new God was “good for it.” This is the point for us today brothers and sisters: faith is not the decision to believe difficult, contradictory, or irrational ideas about God, but to trust in the promises He has given us. This is the faith which motivated the long list of Forefathers given us in the Epistle to the Hebrews and it is this faith which encouraged Joseph to take the Mary as his wife even though she was already pregnant.
As we gaze upon the stars tomorrow evening, let us rejoice that we worship a God who keeps His promises. Let us also gaze into our own hearts and identify those places where we have failed to trust or haven’t kept the faith. Finally, let us rededicate ourselves to the God who loved us first, and who allowed us to witness the culmination of His amazing promises!