NB. A Christmas homily from 2011. . .
Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, New Orleans
In 431 A.D., our Church Fathers
gathered in Ephesus for a council and decreed that the Blessed Virgin
Mary would be honored with the title, Theotókos, God-bearer or
the one who gives birth to God. For a majority of Christians at the
time, this decree was yawn-inducing b/c Mary had been known as Theotókos
for a couple of centuries. However, one bishop, Patriarch Nestorius of
Constantinople, objected to the title because he thought it was
irrational to believe that a creature of God—a human woman—could be the
mother of the God who had created her. He preferred the title,
Christotokos or bearer of the Christ. This title makes it clear that
Mary is the mother of Christ, the man, but not the mother of Christ, who
is God. Nestorius was credibly accused of dividing Christ into two
persons—a human person and a divine person—and thus destroying our means
of salvation. After all, we are saved by Christ precisely because he
is one person possessing both a human nature and a divine nature. The
council fathers declared Nestorius' teachings heretical and supported
the teachings of his opponent, the bishop of Alexandria, St. Cyril. In
support of his position at the council, Cyril wrote, “I am amazed that
there are some who doubt whether or not the Virgin should be called Theotokos. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how is the Virgin who gave him birth, not the one who gives birth to God?”
Now, you are probably thinking
to yourself: Father, we're all stuffed with ham, sweet potatoes, yeast
rolls, and pie. . .and we have a big mess to clean up at home. . .what
have we ever done to you to deserve a lecture on fourth-century
Christological controversies? Well, you've probably done something in
the last year to deserve it. . .but that's not really the point. The
point is this: the event we celebrate today is not Jesus' birthday. .
.this is not a Birthday Party. The event we celebrate is (quoting
John's gospel): “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among
us. . .” The Word became flesh. Who is the Word? Again, quoting John,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.” Don't miss that last bit: “and the Word was God.” God
took on skin and bone and blood, and He dwelt among us as one us.
Today, we celebrate the event of our Creator stepping into His creation
to become a creature. This is most emphatically NOT a birthday party. .
.this is an Incarnation Party! The Word of God, the Christ, who is God,
becomes Man so that we might become Christs.
And that's the answer to my next
question: why did the Word of God, the Christ, who is God become Man?
So that we might become Christs. John writes, “. . .to those who
accept [Christ] he gave power to become children of God.” To be a child
of God is to be a co-heir to God's Kingdom, to be a brother or sister
to the Son of God. To be one of the Father's children is to be one who
sees “[Christ's] glory. . .full of grace and truth.” And to see
Christ's glory, full of grace and truth is to see clearly the righteous
path back to the Father. When we follow that path—with humility, in
obedience; loving, forgiving, showing mercy all along the way—we grow
closer to Christ and become more and more like Christ. But the only
reason we can even begin to walk this path is because the Word of God,
the Christ, became human like one of us; suffered and died like one of
us; and rose from the tomb in order to show us how it's done. He had to
go first, so that we might follow.
Today, Christ is born to the Virgin Mary. She is Theotókos,
God-bearer, Mother of God Incarnate. And if you step onto the narrow
way, the path of holiness, you too can bear Christ into the world; and
not only bear him into the world, but become him for others in the
world. Your words, deeds, thoughts can all reveal God's glory to the
world just as Christ himself revealed God to us. When you leave this
evening. . .when you go back out there. . .back to your Christmas mess. .
.or someone else's mess. . .wherever you go. . .remember that this holy
day celebrates the ultimate triumph of Light over darkness. . .and so,
as you go, be “the true light, which enlightens everyone.” Be Christ!
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