Christmas addres AD 2006 by Metropolitan Stephanos of Tallinn and all Estonia

Today, Christ will come to us and as He does, we, too, can go to Him. Christ, whom we call the Sun of Righteousness, has risen for us; he lights up a new path for all, bringing along a new day from the cave of Bethlehem. “Our life as believers, both in the present and eternal perspective, depends on the good news on salvation announced by Mathew, Mark, Luke and John in their gospel: this child is God. In the present, our life as believers is impossible without this conviction, serving as a basis for our faith and requiring all the power of faith we have got: the Saviour is born for us, this same child, and He is God.”

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger. (Lk 2:12). “Here, in this manger, an unprecedented adventure begins: here lies somebody, who is made humanly God and divinely man… Our life must be of exceptional value, as God is ready to make it His own to such an extent!”*

A baby wrapped in clothes is truly a sign, an omen. Our world is the world of signs and its cryptograms need ongoing interpretation. God is mighty, indeed… Yet, the birth of Jesus Christ is not accompanied by manifestations of His might. On the contrary – becoming man, God first manifests himself in humbleness and weakness. Up to the point where He arrives in poverty and silence. Small becomes large for everybody, who is taking the “small path” of the childhood that began in Bethlehem. This is the reason why Apostle Paul in his first letter to Timothy says that great is the mystery of godliness that we are now celebrating. In my understanding this means that we no longer stand on the threshold of secrecy, as from now, we have been accepted into the unbelievable Love of God. The message of Christmas can be summarized in three words: we are loved. If we, indeed, want to receive these words, they may turn upside down and recreate our entire life. To allow this, one must start from the very beginning. God’s love to human beings – the love without boundaries – must be put on the first place. God is always the one who loves first. He is the one taking the first step. Man’s love to God is just a response. “For us, who we come to the manger together with angels and shepherds, it is not the day to say: “God, I love You”. Today is the day we say: “my God, You truly love me so much””, one Christian French author has written.*

Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh. “Nativity of Christ means that the otherness of the Perfect faces the imperfect. It means that the otherness of the absolutely Pure faces the sinner. It means that the otherness of the boundless Love faces our groping for any sort of emotions. It means that the Supreme Being faces the nothingness of creation.”**

Dear brothers and sisters, let us take with us today the most precious, let us take Jesus, the baby of Bethlehem in His smallness, in his weakness, that gives us strength in our own feebleness. Christ the Saviour will come. We hear the echo of His steps approaching. We hear His voice. And here He is: He came to stay for ever.

Wishing you all the best for this sacred feast of Nativity and the approaching New Year 2007 and giving you my paternal benediction, I pray to the Divine Infant, who lies in the manger of Bethlehem, that He does help us to conciliate his immeasurable Love with the pain of man, with the anguish of the world

Nativity of Christ, Anno Domini 2006.

+ STEPHANOS,
Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia

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References:
* André Sève, “Love Meeting”, Le Centurion, Paris 1983, pp. 194-195.
** One monk of Eastern Church, “Dove and Lamb”, Chevetogne 1979, pp. 89-96; “Boundless Love”, Chevetogne, pp. 25-41; “Jesus”, Chevetogne 1962, p. 11.