Homily on the Nativity of the Theotokos and the Sunday Before the Exaltation of the Cross
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
We have two feasts today, beloved brethren – the Sunday, or the week before the Exaltation of the Cross, and the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. One is a feast of the Lord, the other of the Theotokos. For both feasts, it is customary to read two Apostolic and two Gospel readings for the instruction and edification of Christians. On the Sunday feast, today we read the Gospel of John, which speaks of how the Son of God was destined to die for our redemption from sin, the curse, and death – not by any other means, but through the cross, the most disgraceful and tormenting death, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish forever, but have eternal life. And for the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, we read the Gospel of Luke about a certain woman named Martha who received the Lord into her home, and about how another woman, listening to the word of the Lord, blessed the Mother of God by loudly proclaiming among the people: "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You" (Luke 11:27). – A simple yet worthy blessing!
My brethren! The uncreated God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Creator of man, out of love for the perishing human race, descended from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man, without ceasing to be God. He was crucified on the cross, nailed to the tree with His pure hands and feet, suffered as no one else has suffered, died and was buried, and on the third day He rose from the dead – and then, after forty days, He ascended to heaven and sat at the right hand of God the Father, and He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. What do you think of yourself, O man, perishing in your sins? Do you contemplate the immeasurable mercy of God towards you at every moment, and do you strive to be worthy of this mercy with unwavering faith, sincere gratitude to God, repentance for your sins without hypocrisy, the correction of your heart and entire life according to Christ's commandments, continuous virtue, and heartfelt love for God and your neighbor? Blessed are you if you do all this; woe to you if you neglect it.
Behold how the Lord God cares for our salvation: He did not spare His only begotten Son for our salvation, but delivered Him, with His most merciful consent, to such sufferings and death, More than that, behold, the Son of God, by the will of His Father, offers us daily as food and drink His life-giving flesh and blood for our cleansing, sanctification, renewal, vivification, confirmation, deification, as a pledge of eternal life; and with Himself He grants us all divine powers for a holy, pious life (2 Peter 1:3). What then, dear brethren, are we – rational beings with reason and feeling, or senseless stones? If we have been redeemed from sin, from the devil's terrifying power and eternal perdition at such an immeasurable price, then can we still voluntarily and deliberately yield ourselves to pride, anger, envy, ill-will? Shall we deceive and wrong one another, steal from one another; or engage in drunkenness, foul language, or defile our souls and bodies with lewdness; or be greedy for money, unmerciful, and so forth? God forbid! What would we then be if not Christians? Jews, Tatars, and followers of Muhammad would then be better than us, and indeed many of them live better and more honorably than Christians. It would be better for such Christians not to know the way of truth than to know it and turn back from the holy commandments delivered to them, as the Apostle Peter says: "But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: 'A dog returns to his own vomit,' and, 'a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire'” (2 Peter 2:21–22).
No, my brethren, let us always, day and night, at all times, firmly hold in our minds God’s love toward us, the crucified death of the Son of God for our sins, and the eternal punishment from God for unrepentant sinners: for if they treated the green tree like this, that is, the Righteous One, Jesus Christ, what will happen to us sinners? Therefore, let us love good and every truth: humility, meekness, simplicity, mercy, temperance, chastity, and let us hate every sin. If we conduct ourselves in this manner, then our feasts and our communal prayers will be pleasing to God and will bring us favor and mercy from God; but if after prayers in church you indulge in drunkenness, foul language, and reproach, it would be better for you not to celebrate and not to be in the temple. The Lord hates such feasts.
Therefore, this is the true Christian feast: spend the feast in reflection upon God's benevolence towards us, thank Him wholeheartedly for His countless mercies, sigh, weep over your sins, with which you have often offended your greatest Benefactor God; pass the day soberly; give alms to the poor; reconcile with those who have wronged you; remember the brevity of the present life, and the endlessness of the life to come; that you are here a pilgrim, a sojourner, a guest, while there you will be an eternal resident, an heir, a citizen, as a son of the Heavenly Father; and diligently, earnestly prepare for your relocation, contemplate on the heavenly rather than the earthly. This shall be a truly festive, Christian way of passing time. Through this, you will truly honor the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. For her glorious birth from the holy parents Joachim and Anna should remind us of our spiritual rebirth, the fruit of which is faith, hope, love, holiness, meekness, humility, temperance, and mercy. Because you were born of God through baptism and must live righteously, as the Lord God is holy.
And speaking of which, brethren: for today's great feast, I invite you to a good deed through which you will truly honor the celebration. We have opened a Charity for the Poor at the cathedral, and soon we will begin to assist the needy. Now, I implore those who can to provide your charitable contributions in the name of Christ. I hope for your Christian compassion: you have always responded willingly and sympathetically to my call for good deeds. Last year, I called upon you to help the starving in the Samara province, and you responded with earnest philanthropy; on Peter's Day, I invited you to contribute to the poor of the city of Kronstadt, and you again extended your hand to help. Now I again call upon you to do the same. Rest assured that not a single kopeck of yours will be wasted. The Lord Himself will accept all the gifts, and He will reward you for your philanthropy. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
