From: FADDAH@eworld.com
Date: Fri Dec 22 1995 - 13:48:11 EST
December 22, 1995
Feast of St. Anastasia the Great Martyr
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill among men."
The greatest power in heaven and on earth is LOVE! Not the dormant,
stagnant, selective and conditional love which needs to be provoked to act;
but the living, vibrant, unconditional and sacrificial love which restores
and regenerates. Christmas is the celebration of the victory of the
perserverance of the love of God for man over all adversity and resistance on
the part of man.
Like a loving father who would leave no stone unturned to bring his errant
child back home, our heavenly Father did the same with the human race when
the ones He created in His image and likeness flouted His will, rejected His
love and embarked on the road to perdition.
Like a loving father would make any and every sacrifice necessary to raise
his fallen child, likewise our heavenly Father made the ultimate sacrifice to
restore His fallen image.
Like a powerful king who distinguished himself as a servant in order to woo
the scullery maid he loved, likewise the omnipotent, omnicient and
omnipresent King of the universe humbled Himself into human flesh in order to
woo back the pride of His creation that had fallen into servitude to the
devil.
When the victories He had given to His chosen people found no response in
their hearts; when the messengers He dispatched were not welcomed by His
children; when the prophets He sent found a cruel end at the hands of the
people He loved, He did not permit His love to fade or His anger to mount.
Rather, He decided to climb the ladder of humiliation to lure back the
misguided humanity. On Christmas day we commemorate only the first rung of
this ladder of humiliation that God endured in order to bring us back to the
state of His Peace which surpasses all understanding.
During this year's Christmas season we see many hopeful and promising signs
that His peace is beginning to become our peace as well. The unbelieveable
developments we observe on the international political horizon are beginning
to say to us: If "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish . . .;" should not we also
love God who kept loving us through all our cruelty and infidelity and
sinfulness, and who saved us by giving us the gift of Himself in His
incarnate Word?
Peace has become the slogan of the east and west these days. But can there
really be peace without love? Love one another, then, all my beloved
brethren, and celebrate the victory of love with a most blessed and peaceful
Christmas.
I pray that in celebrating these Holy Days, Christ will enter your lives and
become the center of your families so that you may grow in His love.
I extend to you and your families seasons greetings and the prayers of a
healthy and spiritual New Year!
With love in the Newborn Prince of Peace,
Rev. Fr. Michael H. Kontos, Jr., Sakellarios
Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church
2010 Three Hierarchs Court
Champaign, Illinois 61820
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