In natalem Christi diem

On the Nativity of Our Savior Jesus Christ, a Sermon. I behold a strange and paradoxical mystery: shepherds fill my ears, not piping a rustic tune on their reeds, but singing a heavenly hymn. Angels sing, archangels chant, the Cherubim praise, the Seraphim glorify, all celebrate, seeing God on earth and a man in heaven: the one above brought below by divine economy, and the one below raised above by divine love. Today Bethlehem has imitated heaven: instead of stars, it received angels singing; instead of the sun, it contained the Sun of Justice without limit. And do not ask how; for where God wills, the order of nature is overcome. He willed, He was able, He descended, He saved; all things are concurrent for God. Today the One who is is born, and the One who is becomes what He was not; for being God, He becomes man, without ceasing to be God. For He did not become man by an abandonment of divinity, nor again did He become God by advancement from man; but being the Word, He became flesh without passion, His nature remaining unchanged. But when He was born, the Jews denied the strange birth, and the Pharisees misinterpreted the divine Scriptures, and the scribes spoke contrary to the law. Herod sought the newborn, not to honor him, but to destroy him. For today all things saw the opposite.

For it was not hidden, according to the Psalmist, from their children into another generation. For kings came, marvelling at the heavenly king, how he came upon earth not having angels, not archangels, not thrones, not dominions, not powers, not authorities, but having walked a strange and untrodden path, he came forth from an untilled womb, neither leaving his angels bereft of his oversight, nor by his incarnation among us departing from his own divinity; but kings came to worship the heavenly king of glory, and soldiers to attend the commander-in-chief of the host; women, the one born of a woman, that he might change the sorrows of woman into joy; virgins, the child of the virgin, how the creator of milk and breasts, making the fountains of breasts flow with spontaneous streams, took from a virgin mother the nourishment of an infant; infants, the one who became an infant, that he might fashion praise from the mouths of infants and sucklings; children, the child who made them martyrs through the madness of Herod; men, the one who became man and tended the evils of slaves; shepherds, the good shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep; priests, the one who became high priest according to the order of Melchizedek; slaves, the one who took the form of a slave, that he might honour our slavery with freedom; fishermen, the one who from fishermen made hunters of men; tax-collectors, the one who from tax-collectors revealed an evangelist; prostitutes, the one who offered his feet to the tears of prostitutes.

And to speak concisely, all the sinners came to see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world: magi bearing gifts, shepherds blessing, tax collectors proclaiming the good news, harlots bearing myrrh, the Samaritan woman thirsting for the spring of life, the Canaanite woman possessing unwavering faith. Since all are rejoicing, I too wish to rejoice, I desire to dance, I want to celebrate. And I dance, not striking a cithara, not waving a thyrsus, not holding flutes, not kindling torches, but bearing the swaddling clothes of Christ instead of musical instruments. For these are my hope, these are my life, these are my salvation, these are my flute, these are my cithara. Therefore I come bearing them, so that, having gained strength of words by their power, I may say with the angels: "Glory to God in the highest," and with the shepherds: "And on earth peace, good will among men." Today he who was ineffably born of the Father is born of a virgin, ineffably for my sake. But then he was born according to nature from the Father before the ages, as the one who begot him knows; today he is born again contrary to nature, as the grace of the Holy Spirit understands. And his birth above is true, and his birth below is not false; and truly God was born of God, and truly the same one was born man of a virgin. Above, only-begotten from the only one alone; below, the same only-begotten from the only virgin alone. For just as on the birth above it is impious to conceive of a mother, so it is blasphemous to suppose a father also on the birth below. The Father begot without flux, and the virgin gave birth without corruption; for neither did God undergo flux in begetting—he begot in a manner befitting God—nor did the virgin undergo corruption in giving birth.

For spiritually she gave birth. Thus neither does his birth above admit of explanation, nor does his coming forth in later times allow itself to be scrutinized. That the virgin gave birth, I know today; and that God gave birth timelessly, I believe; but the manner of the birth I have learned to honor with silence, and I have not received it to scrutinize with words. For in the case of God, one must not attend to the nature of things, but trust in the power of the one who acts. For it is a law of nature that when a woman has intercourse in marriage, she gives birth; but when a virgin, inexperienced in marriage, gives birth and again appears a virgin, the matter is beyond nature. Therefore let what is according to nature be investigated, and what is beyond nature be honored with silence, not as something to be shunned, but as something ineffable and worthy of being honored with silence. But grant me pardon, I beg, as I wish to bring my discourse to a close at the very outset. For being timid in the investigation of higher things, I do not know how or where to turn the rudder of my words. For what shall I say, or what shall I speak? I see the one who gave birth, I behold the one born, but I do not perceive the manner of the birth; for nature is overcome, and the limit of order is overcome, where God wills. For the event did not happen according to nature; but the wonder is beyond nature; for nature was idle, and the will of the Lord was active. O ineffable grace! The Only-begotten before the ages, the intangible, simple, and incorporeal, entered into my perishable and visible body. Why? So that, being seen, he might teach, and having taught, he might lead by the hand to that which is not seen.

Since people consider the sense of hearing less trustworthy than sight, and doubt what they do not see, for this reason he deigned to provide his own spectacle to the eyes through the body, in order to resolve the dispute. And he is born from a virgin who was ignorant of the matter; for she neither cooperated in what was happening nor contributed to what was being done, but was a mere instrument of his ineffable power, knowing only what she learned when asked by Gabriel: "How will this be for me, since I know no man?" And he says: "Do you wish to learn this? The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." And how was he with her, and a little later from her? Just as a craftsman, finding the most suitable material, produces a most beautiful vessel, so Christ, finding the virgin's body and soul holy, adorned for himself a living temple, fashioning the man in the virgin in the manner he wished, and clothing himself with him, came forth today, not ashamed of the unseemly nature of the flesh. For it brought no dishonor to him to wear his own work; and the creation reaped the greatest glory, becoming the garment of the craftsman. For just as at the first creation it was impossible for man to be formed before the clay came into his hands, so also it is impossible for the ruined vessel to be remade unless it became the garment of the maker. But what shall I say, or what shall I speak? For the wonder overwhelms me. The Ancient of Days has become a child, he who sits on a high throne and

He who is raised up is placed lying in a manger; he who is intangible, simple, uncompounded, and incorporeal is wrapped in human hands; he who breaks the bonds of sin is entangled in swaddling clothes, because this is what he wills. For he wills to make dishonor honor, to clothe ignobility with glory, to show the limit of insult as a way of virtue. Hence he enters into my body, so that I may contain his Word; and taking my flesh, he gives me his own Spirit, so that by giving and receiving he may procure for me a treasure of life. He takes my flesh to sanctify me; he gives me his Spirit to save me. But what shall I say, and what shall I speak? Behold, the virgin will have in her womb. It is no longer spoken of as something about to happen, but is marveled at as something already done. It was accomplished among the Jews, among whom it was also spoken of; it is believed by us, among whom it was not even named. Behold, the virgin will have in her womb. The letter belongs to the synagogue, the possession to the Church. That one found the diptych, this one discovered the pearl; that one dyed the wool, this one put on the purple robe. For Judea bore him, and the world received him. The synagogue nurtured and tended him, and the Church took hold of him and enjoyed his fruit. With that one is the vine-shoot, and with me the cluster of truth. That one harvested the cluster, and the nations drink the mystic draught. That one sowed the grain of wheat in Judea, and the nations reaped the ear with the sickle of faith.

The nations reverently cut the rose, and to the Jews the thorn of unbelief remained; the fledgling flew away, and the foolish sit by the nest; the Jews interpret the leaf of the letter, and the nations pluck the fruit of the Spirit. Behold, the virgin shall conceive. Tell me, O Jew, tell me then, whom did she bear? Be bold with me, even as with Herod. But you are not bold. I know why: because of the plot. To him you spoke, that he might destroy him; to me you do not speak, that I may not worship him. Whom then did she bear? Whom? The Master of nature. For even if you are silent, nature cries out; for she bore as the one born wished to be born. For he was not governed by nature, but as Master of nature he introduced a strange mode of birth, to show that even when he became man he is not born as a man, but is begotten as God. From a virgin, then, he came forth today, who conquered nature, surpassed marriage. For it was fitting that the steward of holiness should come forth from pure and holy birth. For he is the one who long ago formed Adam from virgin earth, and from Adam without a woman shaped woman. For just as Adam without a woman brought forth woman, so today the virgin without a man bore a man. He is a man, it is said, and who will know him?

For the female sex owed a debt of gratitude to men, since Adam, without a woman, produced a woman; therefore today the virgin gave birth without a man, paying off the debt to men on behalf of Eve. For lest Adam should be proud, having produced a woman without a woman, the virgin also bore a man without a man, so that by the commonality of the miracle she might show the equal honor of nature. For just as he took the rib from Adam and did not diminish Adam at all, so also in the virgin he fashioned the living temple and did not dissolve her virginity. Adam remained whole even after the removal of the rib; the virgin also remained undefiled after the birth of the child. For this reason he did not construct a temple for himself from elsewhere, nor did he clothe himself in another body he had formed, lest he seem to insult the mixture of Adam. For since man, having been deceived, became an instrument of the devil, for this reason he took up the very one who had been tripped as a living temple, so that through the connection to the creator he might separate him from the habit of the devil. Nevertheless, even while becoming man, he is not born as a man, but is begotten as God. For if he had come forth from ordinary marriage, like me, a falsehood to the

It was thought by many; but now for this reason he is born of a virgin, and while being born he both keeps the womb unchanged and preserves virginity unharmed, so that the strange manner of conception may become for me a source of great faith. Hence, whether a Greek or a Jew asks me, that Christ, being God by nature, has become man contrary to nature, I will say, Yes, calling as witness of the word the unsullied seal of virginity; for thus he is God, overcoming the order of nature; thus he is a potter of the womb and an inventor of virginity, because he had an untainted manner of birth, and ineffably built for himself a temple in the way he wished. Tell me then, O Jew, did the virgin give birth or not? For if she gave birth, acknowledge the strange birth; but if she did not give birth, why did you deceive Herod? For when he inquired, where Christ is born, you said, that in Bethlehem of Judea. Was I then not to know the village or the place? Was I not to know the dignity of the one being born? Did not Isaiah mention him as God? For he says, She will bear a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel. Did you not, ungrateful enemies, introduce the truth? Did not you, the scribes and Pharisees, the exact guardians of the law, teach us everything about him? Did we not see the Hebrew language? Did not you interpret the Scriptures? After the virgin gave birth, and before the birth, so that it might not seem that what was said was interpreted to please God, did not you, when asked by Herod, bring forward the prophet Micah as a witness, to confirm your word?

And you, he says, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, are by no means the least among the leaders of Judah; for from you shall come forth a leader who will shepherd my people Israel. The prophet spoke well: "From you." For he came forth from you, and came into the world. For that which is, proceeds; that which is not, is created or comes into being. But he both was and pre-existed and always was; yet he always was as God, governing the world; today, however, he came forth, as man shepherding the people, as God preserving the world. O kind enemies! O humane accusers! who, by concealing the God born in Bethlehem, revealed him; who, by hiding the Lord in the manger, made him known; who, by keeping him seated in the cave, unwittingly disclosed him, and benefited him unwillingly, revealing him while intending to conceal him. Do you see ignorant teachers? They teach what they do not know; they feed while hungry, they give drink while thirsty, they enrich while poor. Come then, let us celebrate, let us hold festival. For the manner of the feast is strange, since the account of the birth is also extraordinary. For today the ancient bond was loosed, the devil was put to shame, the demons fled, death was undone, paradise was opened, the curse was abolished, sin was removed, error was driven away, truth returned, and the word of piety was scattered and ran everywhere; the polity of the heavens was planted on earth, angels commune with men, and men converse fearlessly with angels. Why? Because God came to earth, and man to heaven; all things have become intermingled. For he came upon the earth, while being wholly in the heavens.

Although he is wholly in heaven, he is wholly on earth. Being God, he became man, without denying that he is God; being impassible Word, he became flesh, he became flesh in order to dwell among us. For he did not become God, but he was God. For this reason he became flesh, so that what heaven could not contain, a manger might receive. For this reason he was placed in a manger, so that he who nourishes all things might receive infant nourishment from a virgin mother. For this reason the Father of the coming ages endures being held as a suckling babe in a virgin's arms, so that he might be accessible even to magi. For today magi also approached, beginning to deny the tyrant, and heaven boasts of a star announcing its own Master, and the Lord, seated on a light cloud of the body, runs to Egypt, in appearance fleeing Herod's plot, but in truth fulfilling what was said by Isaiah: "For it shall be," he says, "in that day, Israel third among the Assyrians, and among the Egyptians my people shall be blessed in the land which the Lord Sabaoth blessed, saying: 'My people in Egypt and those among the Assyrians and those in Israel shall be blessed.'" What do you say, O Jew? Have you, the first, become third? Egyptians and Assyrians have been placed before, and the firstborn Israel is counted after? Yes; fittingly Assyrians will be first, since they first worshipped him through the magi; and Egyptians after the Assyrians, since they received him fleeing Herod's plot; and Israel is counted last, since after the ascent from the Jordan they knew him through the apostles.

He entered into Egypt, shaking the hand-made idols of Egypt not simply, but because the entrance of Egypt had been closed by the destruction of the firstborn. For this reason he entered today as a firstborn, so that he might dissolve the mourning of the old gloom. And that Christ is called firstborn, Luke the evangelist testifies today, saying: "And she bore her son, the firstborn, and swaddled him, and laid him in the manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." He entered into Egypt, then, so that he might dissolve the mourning of the old gloom, casting joy instead of scourges, bestowing the light of salvation instead of night and darkness. The water of the river was profane then, by the slaughter of untimely infants. He entered into Egypt, then, who long ago reddened the water, and he made the streams of the river generative of salvation, purifying their pollution and profanity by the power of the Spirit. The Egyptians were afflicted, and raging, they denied God. He entered into Egypt, then, and filled souls with knowledge of God, beloved of God; and to the river he provided martyrs more fruitful than ears of grain. But because of the narrowness of the time, I wish to stop the discourse here; and here I will stop, having completed the discourse, that how, being impassible Word, he became flesh, while his nature remained unchanged. What shall I say, or what shall I speak? I see a carpenter and a manger, and an infant, and swaddling clothes, a parturient virgin bereft of necessities, all things clinging to poverty, all things full of destitution.

Did you see wealth in great poverty? How, being rich, he became poor for our sake? How he had neither a bed nor a mattress, but was cast upon the dry manger? O poverty, source of wealth! O immeasurable wealth, bearing the guise of poverty! He lies in a manger, and he shakes the inhabited world; he is entangled in swaddling clothes, and he breaks the bonds of sin; he has not yet uttered an articulate sound, and he has taught the Magi, and moved them to conversion. What shall I say, or what shall I speak? Behold, an infant is entangled in swaddling clothes and lies in a manger; and Mary is present, being both virgin and mother; and Joseph, called father, was also present. This one is called a man, that one is addressed as a woman; names of lawful union, but devoid of reality. Understand me as far as words go, but not as far as deeds. Only this man had betrothed her, and the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. Hence Joseph, being at a loss, did not know what to call the infant. He did not dare to say it was from adultery, he could not pour out a blasphemous word against the virgin, he could not bear to call it his own child; for he knew well that he did not know how or whence the infant was born; hence, as he was perplexed by the matter, an oracle from heaven was brought through the voice of the angel: "Do not fear, Joseph; for the one born from her is from the Holy Spirit." For the Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin. And why is he born from a virgin, and preserves her virginity unharmed? Because long ago the devil deceived Eve while she was a virgin; for this reason Gabriel announced the good news to Mary while she was a virgin. But Eve, being deceived, gave birth to a word that was the cause of death; Mary, having received the good news, gave birth to the Word in flesh, the provider of eternal life for us.

Eve's word showed forth the tree, through which she cast Adam out of paradise; but the Word from the Virgin showed forth the cross, through which he led the thief into paradise in the person of Adam. For since Greeks, Jews, and the children of heretics did not believe that God begot without flux and without passion, for this reason today, having come forth from a passible body, he preserved the passible body impassible, in order to show that just as, being born from the virgin, he did not dissolve her virginity, so also God, with the holy substance remaining without flux and unchangeable, as God begot God in a manner befitting God. For since men, abandoning him, carved anthropomorphic wooden images, which they even worshipped to the insult of the Creator, for this reason today the Word of God, being God, appeared in human form, in order both to dissolve the falsehood and, unnoticed, to transfer the worship to himself. Therefore, let us send up glory to this Christ, who has wrought a resource from lack of resources, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.