...There is a temptation for us sometimes, as there was with Job the sufferer in the Old Testament, that God doesn’t understand our plight. We are tempted to believe that He is on a different plane of existence than us…like the ancient Greeks believed with their pagan God’s lived up on Mt. Olympus. We sometimes say in our minds: “God doesn’t understand our hardships in this life. He doesn’t know what it is like to lose a loved one, or to take care of someone who is gravely sick or ill.” ...
...the Gospel lesson today is a wonderful reminder for us, that how we act within our families speak volumes about us and our devotion to God. It shows us through Herod’s family…a clear picture of what happens when our priorities are not where they should be. When God is absent from our homes…when we don’t take the time to converse with Him in communal prayer…when we don’t give thanks before our meals…when we don’t show gratitude for all that He has given us…and when we don’t praise him for all he has NOT given us (this is a difficult one to grasp)…we fall prey to the temptations that Herod’s family had fallen into....
...He was born in the midst of beasts, so that we might turn from beasts who instinctively follow their passions, into rational and deified human beings. And perhaps the most stirring of all, He was born in that lowly place knowing the fate that awaited Him at Golgotha.
Our Lord knew that He was to lead a life of perpetual humiliation, one that was climaxed when the human race who He came to save, betrayed Him and nailed Him to the cross.
What more could we possibly ask from a humble savior, Who was willing to come so far…and endure so much…out of his love for mankind....
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the banquet lies before us today. It is not some superficial place that we will get to eventually after we pass away…it is here….it is now. The Gospel today says: “Come NOW, for all things are ready.”
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, remember…this…gospel lesson. Read it over and over again. Study the invite that has been given to you by the Holy Forefathers, Apostles, Saints, and Fathers of the Church.
"So rather than all the nonsense that the world says is so important to our happiness, we should follow St. Paul’s direction, and speak “to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” That is exactly what we do at each Divine Liturgy and every service of the Church. The focus has always been Christ, Who is celebrated without all the trappings. A Christmas with Christ is the one gift that fits all, is the perfect color, and no one will be boxing up to return to the store the next day. Salvation is the gift that you will want to keep this year."
