Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

My Christmas 2016 message for the congregation of St. Michael's

“Truth has sprung out of the earth” (Ps 85:11).

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Merry Christmas  and Happy New Year to you and your families!

I express my Christmas greetings and New Year wishes in these words taken from Psalm 85: “Truth has sprung out of the earth.”  Actually, in the text of the Psalm, these words are in the future (Ps 85:11-14):

Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.

The Lord himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.

Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps

These prophetic words will be fulfilled on Christmas!  In Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, kindness and truth do indeed meet; justice and peace have kissed; truth has sprung out of the earth and justice has looked down from heaven. Saint Augustine explains admirably: “What is truth? The Son of God. What is the earth? The flesh. Ask whence Christ has been born, and you will see that truth has sprung out of the earth . . . truth has been born of the Virgin Mary.”  And in a Christmas sermon he says that “in this yearly feast we celebrate that day when the prophecy was fulfilled: ‘truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven.’  The Truth, which is in the bosom of the Father has sprung out of the earth, to be in the womb of a mother too. The Truth which rules the whole world has sprung out of the earth, to be held in the arms of a woman. . . . The Truth which heaven cannot contain has sprung out of the earth, to be laid in a manger. For whose benefit did so lofty a God become so lowly? Certainly not for his own, but for our great benefit, if we believe” ( Sermons, 185, 1).

If we believe. Here we see the power of faith! God has done everything; He has done the impossible: He was made flesh. His all-powerful love has accomplished something which surpasses all human understanding: the Infinite has become a child, has entered the human family. And yet, this same God cannot enter my heart unless I open the door to him.  The door of faith! This human ability to be closed to God can make us fearful. But see the reality which chases away this gloomy thought, the hope that conquers fear: truth has sprung up! God is born! “The earth has yielded its fruits” (Ps 67:7). Yes, there is a good earth, a healthy earth, an earth freed of all selfishness and all lack of openness. In this world there is a good soil which God has prepared, that He might come to dwell among us. A dwelling place for His presence in the world . Consequently, there is hope in the world; there is hope in America, a hope in which we can trust, even at the most difficult times and in the most difficult situations. Truth has sprung up, bringing kindness, justice and peace.

Yes, may peace spring up for the people of the Middle East, deeply wounded and divided by  conflicts which do not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims. Let us pray for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflicts.

May peace spring up in the Land where the Redeemer was born, and may He grant Israelis and Palestinians courage to end the long years of conflict and division, and to embark resolutely on the path of negotiation.

Let us pray for the countries of Africa, which are experiencing a major transition in pursuit of a new future – and especially the beloved land of Egypt, blessed by the childhood of Jesus – that citizens work together to build societies founded on justice and respect for the freedom and dignity of every person.

May the Birth of Christ facilitate the return of peace in Mali, Somalia, Cameroun, and that of concord in Nigeria, where savage acts of terrorism continue to reap victims, particularly among Christians. May the Redeemer bring help and comfort to the refugees from  the Democratic Republic of Congo, and grant peace to Kenya, where brutal attacks have struck the civilian population and places of worship.

Let us pray that Child Jesus bless the great numbers of the faithful who celebrate Him in Latin America. May He increase their human and Christian virtues, sustain all those forced to leave behind their families and their land, and confirm government leaders in their commitment to development and fighting crime.

May peace spring up on the vast continent of Asia. May the Child Jesus look graciously on the many peoples who dwell in those lands and, in a special way, upon all those who believe in him.

Dear brethren, kindness and truth, justice and peace have met; they have become incarnate in the child born of Mary in Bethlehem. That child is the Son of God; He is God appearing in history. His birth is a flowering of new life for all humanity. May every land become a good earth which receives and brings forth kindness and truth, justice and peace.

May 2017 be a year of faith and spiritual restoration for our beloved country. May God’s Light shine again and dispel, once and  for all, the darkened” ideologies of Herodias” that chased Christianity out of the public squares.  Let us pray that this nation  be one and under God again.

May Saint Michael foster kindness, truth and peace for all.  Let us pray that 2017 be finally the year we build (find) an “Inn” (home) for our savior. For decades now, we have been wandering in the field, from one manger to another manger with not clear path or will to find us a permanent home.

God has blessed us, continue to bless us each day, and we need to bless his name by building him a tabernacle, a place He will dwell among us.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!

Father Pothin, Rector
St. Michael the Archangel Anglican Catholic Church